2023-11-06 05:00:06
NASA’s Juno probe reveals its findings about Ganymede, which could illuminate secrets about this icy moon of Jupiter. His observations suggest complex interactions beneath the surface, inviting us to reevaluate our knowledge on the subject.
This enhanced image of the Jovian moon Ganymede was obtained by the JunoCam camera aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during a flyby of the icy moon on June 7, 2021, during Jupiter’s 34th close pass.
Crédit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kalleheikki Kannisto
During a flyby by the Juno probe in June 2021, the JIRAM (Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper) instrument analyzed Ganymede, revealing the presence of hydrated salts such as sodium chloride, ammonium chloride (The ammonium ion (of formula NH4+) is a polyatomic ion with a positive electrical charge (it is…), sodium bicarbonate (Sodium hydrogencarbonate or sodium bicarbonate or monosodium carbonate or…) and potential organic compounds called aliphatic aldehydes. These discoveries provide clues to the formation and evolution of Ganymede and to the chemical composition of its underground ocean.
Despite Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field, which could compromise the survival of such compounds on its moons, the equatorial region of Ganymede seems sufficiently protected to preserve them. Scott Bolton, principal investigator of the Juno mission, discusses the possibility of observing brine from a deep ocean rising to the surface. surface generally refers to the surface layer of an object. The term a…) of this frozen world.
View of NASA’s Juno probe orbiting Jupiter.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The presence of these salts and organic compounds on Ganymede could indicate hydrothermal activity beneath the icy surface or interactions between its underground ocean and rocks at depth.
The study of these Juno observations, published in the journal Nature Astronomy on October 30, suggests that these salts could result from processes other than the activity of an interior salty ocean, due to Ganymede’s thick crust compared to that of of Europa (Europe is a terrestrial region which can be considered as a…), another moon of Jupiter. This suggests an exchange between the superficial crust and the surface, or an exogenous deposition.
Launched in August 2011 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Juno is the second mission to orbit Jupiter, after the Galileo probe (Galileo was a American space probe (designed by NASA) designed for the study of…) of NASA. Its mission, initially planned to study the weather, the environment (The environment is everything that surrounds us. It is the set of natural and…) magnetic elements and the history of the gas giant (The gas giants are the largest of the planets. They are called gaseous, by…), has already been extended twice and is expected to continue until September 2025.
Ganymede thus reveals itself as a complex natural laboratory, offering a window on geological and chemical processes beyond our own planet.
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