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When NASA\u2019s Juno mission flies by Jupiter\u2019s fiery moon Io on July 30, the spacecraft will be making its closest approach yet, coming within 13,700 miles (22,000 kilometers) of it. Data collected by the Italian-built JIRAM (Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper) and other science instruments are expected to provide a wealth of information on the hundreds of erupting volcanoes pouring out molten lava and sulfurous gases all over the volcano-festooned moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile JIRAM was designed to look at Jupiter\u2019s polar aurora, its capability to identify heat sources is proving to be indispensable in our hunt for active volcanos on Io,\u201d said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. \u201cAs we get closer with each flyby, JIRAM and other instruments aboard Juno add to our library of data on the moon, allowing us to not only better resolve surface features but understand how they change over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Launched in 2011, the spinning, solar-powered spacecraft has been studying the Jovian system since 2016 and will begin the third year of its extended mission on July 31.<\/p>\n
Io\u2019s Hot Spots<\/strong><\/p>\n Slightly larger than Earth\u2019s moon, Io is a world in constant torment. Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are Io\u2019s Galilean siblings \u2013 Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede. The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes.<\/p>\n During Juno\u2019s last flyby of Io, which occurred May 16, the JunoCam imager took a picture from 22,100 miles (35,600 kilometers) showing a smudge at the moon\u2019s Volund region, near the equator. Such smudges are smoking guns to planetary scientists.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I compared it to visible-light images taken of the same area during Galileo and New Horizons flybys (in 1999 and 2007), I was excited to see changes at Volund, where the lava flow field had expanded to the west and another volcano just north of Volund had fresh lava flows surrounding it,\u201d said Jason Perry of the University of Arizona\u2019s HiRISE Operations Center in Tucson. \u201cIo is known for its extreme volcanic activity, but after 16 years, it is so nice to see these changes up close again.<\/p>\n During that same May 16 pass, JIRAM found a smoking gun of its own. Built by the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, the infrared imager was able to capture 125-mile-wide (202-kilometer-wide) Loki Patera, the largest volcanic depression on Io. At less than 6 miles (10 kilometers) per pixel, the JIRAM data reveals what could be an active volcano. The team hopes for another look with the next flyby.<\/p>\n \u201cThe data show the lava could be bubbling to the surface in the northwest portion and creating a lava lake to the south and east,\u201d said Alessandro Mura, co-investigator from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome. \u201cAny volcanologist will tell you it is important to determine whether a lava lake has a stable source of material from an underground chamber. These data, and those we collect on upcoming flybys, will be crucial to understanding the kind of volcanism that is occurring at Io.\u201d<\/p>\n Young Scientists Engage Jupiter<\/strong><\/p>\n On July 17, Bolton and other members of the mission met with 49 students and early career scientists from all over Europe at the University of Rome to attend a weeklong workshop on Juno\u2019s cutting-edge data on Jupiter and its moons.<\/p>\n \u201cThe contributions of the European scientific and engineering communities have been so fundamental for the success of our mission,\u201d said Bolton. \u201cThis is just a small way of giving back to the community that means so much to us. During the workshop, students and early career researchers got to work with members of the Juno science team to develop some exciting scientific projects based on our data. Based on what I saw and the enthusiasm of these young people, the future of planetary exploration is bright here in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n More About the Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA\u2019s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.<\/p>\n Click here for more information about NASA’s Juno Mission.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.satnow.com\/news\/nasa_3_638261208567493824.jpg\")
At the top and bottom right, JunoCam images taken in May 2023 of Jupiter\u2019s moon Io show lava fields surrounding volcanoes Volund A and B appear to be growing in size. Previous NASA spacecraft imaged the same region in 1996, bottom left, and 2007, bottom center.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n