Exploring Jupiter’s Inner Moon Io: NASA’s Juno Reveals Volcanic Secrets

2023-07-28 02:59:00
NASA’s Juno spacecraft reached the closest point so far to Jupiter’s inner moon on Sunday, the agency said Thursday. Juno came as close as 13,700 miles (22,000 kilometers) to Jupiter’s inner moon, Io. The data collected by scientific instruments is expected to provide a wealth of information about the hundreds of explosive volcanoes that are spewing lava and molten sulfur gases all over the volcano-adorned moon, according to NASA. The solar-powered spacecraft was launched in 2011 and has been studying the Jovian system since 2016, and will begin the third year of its extended mission on July 31. The Jupiter system includes Jupiter, its rings, and its moons. The Juno mission aims to study the gravitational and magnetic fields of the gas giant, the vast magnetosphere, the intense aurora borealis, and to explore the swirling clouds that make up the colorful atmosphere of Jupiter, in order to learn how Jupiter formed and how it evolved, according to NASA.
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