NASA’s Juno mission recently completed its 53rd close flyby of Jupiter, passing by the gas giant’s volcanic moon, Io, and capturing a stunning image of both celestial bodies together. Juno, short for Jupiter’s Near-Polar Orbiter, was launched in 2011 with the primary goal of understanding Jupiter’s origin and evolution, mapping its magnetic field, and studying its deep atmosphere and auroras. Io, Jupiter’s moon, is known as the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of erupting volcanoes spewing molten lava and sulfur gases. The mission provides scientists with unprecedented insights and will continue to gather data through upcoming flybys in 2023 and 2024.
Facts/Terms for UPSC Prelims
- Jovian Moons: Moons that orbit Jupiter, one of which is Io, the focus of Juno’s recent flyby.
- Tidally Locked: A celestial body is tidally locked when its rotation period matches its orbital period, causing one side always to face the parent planet, as is the case with Io and Jupiter.
- Sulfur Dioxide: A chemical compound that makes up Io’s thin atmosphere.
- Auroras: Natural light displays caused by charged particles colliding with a planet’s atmosphere, such as those observed on Jupiter.
- Celestial Bodies: Objects in space, including planets, moons, and stars. In this context, it refers to Jupiter and its moon, Io.
- Close Flyby: A maneuver in which a spacecraft passes relatively near a celestial body for scientific observations and data collection.
