The image was taken by the Juno spacecraft

Upcoming 30 December 2023, NASA’s Juno spacecraft to conduct closest flyby of volcanic moon IoWhich is the nearest Galilean satellite of Jupiter.

The results that are expected after this great step are intended to allow Juno instruments to generate Large amounts of data.

(You can read: Europe achieves autonomy in space with Ariane 6 and will launch Hera mission in 2024).

The spacecraft will reach about 1,500 kilometers from the surface of the solar system’s most volcanic planet. As mentioned, never before No spacecraft of this type has come this close to the Sun in more than 20 years.

According to the statements of Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio (Texas), in a statement on the NASANet magazine portal: “By combining the data of this flyby with our previous observations, the scientific team” Juno is studying “How Io’s Volcanoes Are Different.”

Additionally, Bolton said: “We’re looking at how often they erupt, how bright and hot they get, how the shape of lava flows changes, and how the activity is related to the flow of charged particles in Jupiter’s magnetosphere.,

(You can read: NASA to study asteroid ‘God of Chaos’ that will pass very close to Earth).

Will more flyovers be built?

A second flyby will actually take place on February 3, 2024, with Juno once again coming within 1,500 kilometers of the surface.

It is important to note that the spacecraft carrying out this mission is responsible for monitoring Io’s volcanic activity from a distance of approximately 11,000 kilometers and up to more than 100,000 kilometers away.

With the above, The first views of the Moon’s north and south poles are provided.

“The spacecraft also made close rounds of the icy moons of Jupiter, Ganymede and Europa,” the previously mentioned magazine statement said.

“With our pair of close flybys in December and February, Juno will investigate the source of Io’s immense volcanic activity, whether a magma ocean exists beneath its crust, and the importance of Jupiter’s tidal forces that drive this torrid atmosphere,” Bolton said. “Continually squeezing the moon.” ,

(You can read: NASA has revealed the discovery of a planet that has similarities with Earth).

In April 2024, the spacecraft is expected to carry out some secret experiments that will use the gravity science Juno experiment, which aims to investigate the composition of Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.

Key information regarding the above will be provided Size and internal structure of Jupiter.

Thanks to the three cameras on Juno, the Jovian Infrared Aurora Mapper (JIRAM), which takes pictures in the infrared, Will collect heat signatures emitted by the volcanoes and calderas covering the moon’s surface.

“JunoCam is starting to see the cumulative effect of that radiation over the last few orbits,” said Ed Hurst, Juno project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

He added: “Images from the latest flyby show a reduction in the camera’s dynamic range and the presence of ‘streak’ noise. “Our engineering team is working on solutions to minimize radiation damage and keep the imager operational.”

(You can read: Nostradamus’s prediction for 2024 about NASA on Mars: ‘Failure to light’).

After several months of evaluation and study, the Juno team and researchers are in charge of adjusting the trajectory and future planning of nearly seven new distant flybys of Io. This is known as extended mission planning.

After the close pass event on February 3, the spacecraft will fly around Io in alternating orbits and “Each orbit will become progressively more distant: the first orbit will be about 16,500 kilometers above IoAnd the last one will be about 115,000 kilometers away.

Lady Daniela Ortiz Gongora

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