NASA’s Juno Orbiter Captures Stunning Images of Jupiter’s Moon Io
On February 3, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made a second close flyby of Io, the fifth of Jupiter’s moons and the third largest. Like the previous flyby on December 30,…
Ice Plumes of Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus May Hold Amino Acids, Study Suggests
Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in the Solar System, identified by NASA as the second-highest priority site for a flagship mission in the next decade.…
Atmospheric Winds Penetrate Jupiter in Cylindrical Manner, Planetary Researchers Say
The violent nature of Jupiter’s atmosphere has long been a source of fascination for scientists. NASA’s Juno spacecraft has had a ringside seat to the goings-on since it entered the…
Juno Detects Various Salts and Organic Compounds on Ganymede
Using data from the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have detected hydrated sodium chloride, ammonium chloride and sodium/ammonium carbonate, as well as organic compounds…
Europa’s Carbon Dioxide Originates from Source within Its Subsurface Ocean, Planetary Scientists Say
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has an ocean beneath a crust of water ice. Solid carbon dioxide has previously been observed on the surface, but the source was unknown. Two teams…
Webb Detects Hydrogen Peroxide on Ganymede
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the only satellite in the Solar System known to have an intrinsic magnetic field. Interactions between this field and the magnetosphere of Jupiter are expected to…
New Research Sheds More Light on Evolution of Europa’s Interior
Many planetary scientists studying Jupiter’s moon Europa assumed that it formed with a metallic core during or shortly after accretion. New research from Arizona State University contradicts that prediction, instead…
Local Tectonic Activity Could Cause Landslides on Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn
Intense tectonism is evident on many outer solar system satellites — such as Ganymede, Europa, and Enceladus — with some surface regions showing ridge-and-trough structures which have characteristics suggestive of…
ESA’s JUICE Spacecraft Launches to Study Jupiter’s Icy Moons
ESA’s latest interplanetary mission, the JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE), lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 14:14 CEST on April 14, 2023, to begin its eight-year…
Scientists Explain Why Jupiter’s and Saturn’s Icy Moons Have Extreme Radar Properties
The radar properties of icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn commonly differ by more than an order of magnitude from those of rocky planets because of the lower absorptivity of…