US “Juneau” probe will fly over Jupiter’s largest moon-Sputnik China

Technology

16:31 June 07, 2021Shorten URL

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The NASA “Juneo” probe will fly over Jupiter’s largest satellite, Ganymede on the 7th, with the closest distance of 1038 kilometers.

Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system and the only satellite with its own magnetic field. Ganymede has a diameter of 5262 kilometers, which is larger than Mercury and Pluto.

The Juno will collect data on the composition and temperature of Ganymede. The Juno will fly past Ganymede at a speed of 19 kilometers per second. This means that Ganymede will go from a spot of light to a visible disc, and then back to a spot of light in about 25 minutes.

This period of time is sufficient for the JunoCam imager on the Juno probe to record five measured positions on Ganymede.

Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Juno Institute at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio said: “By flying at close range, we will bring Ganymede’s exploration into the 21st century.”

Previous studies have shown that Ganymede has a three-layer structure, which is a metallic iron sphere (core that generates a magnetic field) in the center, a spherical rock (mantle) surrounding the core, and an ice crust about 800 kilometers thick.

The “Juneau” microwave radiometer (MWR) will survey Ganymede’s ridges and grooves on the water and ice surface. Scientists believe that these traces indicate that Ganymede had a disaster in the distant past.

The Juno will also measure background radiation near Ganymede. This approach will be the closest spacecraft to Ganymede since Galileo in May 2000.