JUICE is Planning To Do Science On Jupiter's "Minor" Moons Too
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The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) probe is on its (very long) way to Jupiter, and will finally arrive at the King of Planets in 2031. Its primary mission is to focus on the “big three” icy moons - Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. But while JUICE is busy mapping Ganymede’s magnetic field, it will also be keeping a sharp eye on the other 94 moons in the Jupiter system. A recent paper published in Space Science Reviews by Tilmann Denk of DLR, Germany’s space rese
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JUICE is Planning To Do Science On Jupiter's "Minor" Moons Too By Andy Tomaswick - March 19, 2026 01:49 PM UTC | Missions The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer probe is on its (very long) way to Jupiter, and will finally arrive at the King of Planets in 2031. Its primary mission is to focus on the “big three” icy moons - Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. But while JUICE is busy mapping Ganymede’s magnetic field, it will also be keeping a sharp eye on the other 94 moons in the Jupiter system. A recent paper published in Space Science Reviews by Tilmann Denk of DLR, Germany’s space research association, and his co-authors showcases just how much “bonus science” JUICE is expected to squeeze out of these other targets. Io is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch. It is the most geologically active object in our solar system, hosting an astonishing 425 active volcanoes that constantly resurface the entire moon. While the flight plan for JUICE only takes it within a few hundred thousand kilometers of Io, it will still use all of its instrumentation to track as much as it can about it. Specifically, its JANUS camera will track surface changes at a scale of around 6-12 kilometers per pixel, while watching for hot spots and plumes that might be missed by other missions like Juno. It seems to be a great time to be watching Io, as Juno recently watched the largest eruption ever recorded on its surface, emitting 80 trillion watts of energy. The James Webb Space Telescope also recently detected sulfur in Io’s atmosphere for the first time - offering a way to track how volcanic gas escapes into Jupiter’s massive plasma system. JUICE’s UVS instrument will watch for further sulfur dioxide emissions and auroras, while its PEP instrument will monitor the moon’s plasma torus, a donut-shaped ring of ionized gas supplied by the outgassing of the volcanoes. ESA video describing JUICE’s orbital path. Credit - ESA YouTube Channel There are four smaller moons insi...
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