A NASA spacecraft is preparing for the first of a series of close encounters with the most volcanic place in the solar system, as the Juno spacecraft will fly by Jupiter's moon Io, Thursday. The maneuver will be one of 9 trips in which "Juno" will approach Jupiter's moon "Io" over the next year and a half, including two trips in which the spacecraft will be only 1,500 km from the lunar surface.
Juno captured a glowing infrared view of Io on July 5 from 80,000 km away. The brighter spots in that image correspond to hotter temperatures on Io, which is home to hundreds of volcanoes, some of which can send lava fountains tens of kilometers high.
Scientists will use Juno's observations of Io to learn more about the volcanic network and how its eruptions interact with Jupiter. It is noteworthy that the Moon is constantly being pulled by Jupiter's enormous gravity.
"The team is very excited that Juno's expanded mission includes studying Jupiter's moons," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator for Juno at Southwest Research Institute in America. "With each close flight, we were able to obtain a wealth of new information," he said in a statement.
It is noteworthy that the "Juno" spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, to reveal more details about the giant planet. The flybys of Jupiter's moons, which began last year, will continue until the end of 2025.
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