NASA's Juno spacecraft will get to see Jupiter's moon Europa in great detail as it is set to perform a close flyby of the icy moon this week.
NASA’s spacecraft Juno is best known for the gorgeous images of Jupiter it has captured over its decade-long mission so far and the discoveries it has enabled about Jupiter’s bizarre weather phenomena. But it has also been busy studying Jupiter’s moons, including capturing images of Io and Europa and capturing not only the sights but also the sounds of the moon Ganymede. Now Juno will get to see Europa in even more detail as it is set to perform a close flyby of the icy moon this week.
“Europa is such an intriguing Jovian moon, it is the focus of its own future NASA mission,” said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute, in a statement. “We’re happy to provide data that may help the Europa Clipper team with mission planning, as well as provide new scientific insights into this icy world.”
“The relative velocity between spacecraft and moon will be 14.7 miles per second , so we are screaming by pretty fast,” said John Bordi, Juno deputy mission manager at JPL. “All steps have to go like clockwork to successfully acquire our planned data, because soon after the flyby is complete, the spacecraft needs to be reoriented for our upcoming close approach of Jupiter, which happens only 7 ½ hours later.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Asteroid-bound DART spacecraft snaps Jupiter and moon Europa | Digital TrendsWith just a few days to go before NASA deliberately crashes it into an asteroid, the DART spacecraft has snapped an image of Jupiter and its moon Europa.
Read more »
Juno Photos Used to Create 3D Render of Jupiter’s ‘Frosted Cupcake’ CloudsData from NASA's Juno spacecraft was used to create this computer animation of a flight over Jupiter's clouds.
Read more »
NASA Reportedly Concerned That Astronauts Will Get Pregnant in SpaceEveryone has pondered the conundrum of space sex — but the nerds at NASA are apparently more concerned about sex's side effects than the act itself.
Read more »
EXPLAINER: Why a NASA spacecraft will crash into an asteroidA NASA spacecraft is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.
Read more »
EXPLAINER: Why a NASA spacecraft will crash into an asteroidCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away. A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph).
Read more »
NASA astronaut flies on Russian rocket for the first time since Ukraine invasionA Russian cosmonaut will soon also fly aboard a SpaceX rocket launching from U.S. soil for the first time. Launch is scheduled for October 3.
Read more »