Juno made a flight just 368 kilometers from the surface of Europa last Thursday.
NASA ‘s Juno space probe flew just 368 kilometers from the surface of Europa , one of Jupiter ‘s moons .
The milestone was made last Thursday , in the closest flight to this frozen star in more than 20 years, and we can only see its impressive .
The close look at Europe
During Thursday’s flyby, Juno made important observations of Europa , including taking high-resolution images of its surface.
The spacecraft was in the shadow of Europa , but sunlight reflected from Jupiter provided enough light for the probe’s camera to capture images.
This composite image shows the best-known shot of Europa taken by Galileo in 1997. It reveals Europa ‘s natural color and shows the amazing diversity of its surface geology.
The image of his side was taken by Juno on September 29. It also demonstrates its long linear cracks and ridges that cut across the moon’s surface.
This is the third time in history that a spacecraft has flown by the icy moon, with the previous two decades ago.
A place to look
Europa is a moon that maintains layers of ice on its surface.
Scientists have long been curious about Europa , which is covered in ice but is thought to have a vast ocean below the surface due to the moon’s hot core. Planetary scientists believe that there is probably more liquid water in its depths than on Earth.
Although the ice sheet is thought to be several kilometers thick, the Hubble Space Telescope has collected data indicating that geysers can periodically erupt through cracks in this ice. Due to the presence of water and heat, this ocean is a potential reservoir for exotic microbial life.
The visual images and scientific data will help inform NASA scientists completing assembly of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, a large spacecraft scheduled for launch in 2024.