Surface features of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa are revealed in an image acquired by the Juno Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) during the spacecraft flyby on September 29, 2022. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
Observations from the spacecraft’s passage of the moon provided the first close-up in more than two decades of this ocean world, resulting in fascinating images and a unique flag.
The highest-resolution image ever taken by NASA’s Juno mission of a specific part of Jupiter’s moon Europa reveals a detailed view of a bewildering region of the moon’s deeply fractured icy crust.
The image covers regarding 93 miles (150 kilometers) by 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Europa’s surface, revealing an area criss-crossed by a network of fine grooves and double ridges (pairs of long parallel lines indicating features high in the ice). Near the top right of the image, as well as to the right and down the center are dark spots that are likely related to something from below blasting out onto the surface. Below the center and to the right is a surface feature invoking a musical quarter note, measuring 42 miles (67 km) from north to south by 23 miles (37 km) from east to west. The white dots in the image are signals of penetration of high-energy particles from the harsh radiation environment around the Moon.
Juno’s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) – a stellar camera used to guide spacecraft – acquired the black-and-white image during the spacecraft’s flyby of Europa on September 29, 2022, at a distance of regarding 256 miles (412 km). At a resolution of 840 to 1,115 feet (256 to 340 meters) per pixel, the image was taken as Juno was advancing at regarding 15 miles per second (24 kilometers per second) over a portion of the surface that was at night, dimly lit by “Jupiter’s luminosity.” – Reflection of sunlight from the tops of the cloud of Jupiter.
Designed for low-light conditions, the SRU has proven a valuable scientific tool, detecting shallow lightning in Jupiter’s atmosphere, imaging Jupiter’s mysterious ring system, and now providing a glimpse into some of Europe’s most fascinating geological formations.
“This image unlocks an amazing level of detail in an area that has never before been photographed with such resolution and under floodlight conditions,” said Heidi Becker, SRU’s co-principal investigator. “The team’s use of the Star Tracking Camera for Science is a great example of Juno’s pioneering capabilities. These features are very interesting. Understanding how it was formed – and how it relates to the history of Europe – teaches us regarding the internal and external processes that make up the crust.”
It won’t be Juneau University scientists alone who will be busy analyzing the data in the coming weeks. During Juno’s 45th orbit around Jupiter, all of the spacecraft’s scientific instruments were collecting data during Europa’s flyby and then once more when Juno hovered over Jupiter’s poles 7 short hours later.
Juno’s principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said. “With this Europa flyby, Juno has now seen close-ups of two of Jupiter’s most interesting moons, their icy crusts looking very different from each other. In 2023, Io, the most volcanic body in the solar system, will join the club.” Juno sailed close to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede – the largest moon in the solar system – in June 2021.
Europa is Solar SystemThe sixth largest moon with regarding 90% of the diameter of the Earth’s equator the moon. Scientists are confident that a salty ocean lies under a miles of ice crust, which raises questions regarding the possibility of ocean habitation. In the early 2030s, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will arrive and strive to answer these questions regarding the habitability of Europe. Data from the Juno flyby provides a preview of what this mission will reveal.
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