Ganymede Archives

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Ceres, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Through-Ice Acoustic Communication For Ocean Worlds Exploration

by Keith CowingSeptember 22, 2024September 22, 2024

Subsurface exploration of ice-covered planets and moons presents communications challenges because of the need to communicate through kilometers of ice. The objective of this task is to develop the capability […]

Above: Examples of typical surfaces of the icy Galilean satellites (panel a: Europa, near Conamara Chaos region at 8.1°N/90.9°E; panel b: Ganymede, Nicholson Regio at ∼14°S/12.7°E; panel c: Callisto, detail of Asgard impact basin at 14.7°N/218°E). All images are scaled to 150 m px−1. The crater density (a proxy of surface age) increases from Europa to Callisto, reflecting the geological history of surface processes. The surface of Europa displays the most complex inventory of landforms that were formed by endogenic processes, whereas Callisto’s surface is almost devoid of any evidence for tectonic and cryovolcanic activity (Image: NASA/DLR). Below: Models of the interiors of the icy Galilean satellites (Images: ESA/ATG Medialab). Details on their examination by JUICE are provided by Van Hoolst et al. (2024, this collection) -- pace Sci Rev via PubMed

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Characterization of the Surfaces and Near-Surface Atmospheres of Ganymede, Europa and Callisto by JUICE

by Keith CowingSeptember 17, 2024September 17, 2024

We present the state of the art on the study of surfaces and tenuous atmospheres of the icy Galilean satellites Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, from past and ongoing space exploration […]

Calibrated images of Ganymede’s 630.0 nm auroral emission displayed in 20 R contours. To better reveal the spatial variability we smoothed the data using a Gaussian kernel with a FWHM of 0. ′′5 approximating typical seeing conditions for the morning of 2021-06-08 UTC. The time in the upper left of each image is the UTC time at the start of the observation, the annotation in the lower right is the distance to the plasma sheet centrifugal equator; positive when Ganymede is above the mid-plane and negative when it is below. As Ganymede moved vertically through the plasma sheet, the hemisphere closest to the mid-plane exhibited the brightest aurora. From approximately 14:00 to 14:45 UTC, Ganymede is within ±0.5 RJ and the brightness is more evenly-distributed across the disk. Ganymede passed through the highestdensity plasma mid-plane at 14:20 UTC, so the top two rows display data when Ganymede was above the mid-plane (with enhanced brightness at southern latitudes) and the bottom row displays data when Ganymede was below the mid-plane (with enhanced brightness at northern latitudes). Because of the blurring effect of atmospheric seeing, the calibrated brightness distribution of the individual pixels is lower than the disk-averaged value reported in de Kleer et al. (2023) and table 1, which assume all emission originates from a disk with Ganymede’s solid-angular size. The white grid shows the physical size and orientation of Ganymede, with north pointing upward (for more details on this observing geometry, see figure 2). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Short-Timescale Spatial Variability of Ganymede’s Optical Aurora

by Keith CowingSeptember 11, 2024September 11, 2024

Ganymede’s aurora are the product of complex interactions between its intrinsic magnetosphere and the surrounding Jovian plasma environment and can be used to derive both atmospheric composition and density.

MAJIS images of the Pacific Ocean -- ESA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrobiology Mission Update: Juice Confirms That Earth Is Habitable

by Keith CowingSeptember 10, 2024September 10, 2024

During its flyby of Earth on 20 August, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) found ingredients for life in Earth’s atmosphere.

Kobe University HIRATA Naoyuki was the first to realize that the location of an asteroid impact on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is almost precisely on the meridian farthest away from Jupiter. This implied that Ganymede had undergone a reorientation of its rotational axis and allowed Hirata to calculate what kind of impact could have caused this to happen.CREDIT HIRATA Naoyuki

Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Jupiter, Pluto, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Gigantic Asteroid Impact Shifted The Axis Of Ganymede

by Keith CowingSeptember 4, 2024September 4, 2024

Around 4 billion years ago, an asteroid hit the Jupiter moon Ganymede. Now, a Kobe University researcher realized that the Solar System’s biggest moon’s axis has shifted as a result […]

A schematic configuration of PRIDE (not to scale) supporting two Jovian missions, JUICE (the lower left spacecraft) and Europa Clipper (the upper right spacecraft). The spacecraft are in two-way radio contact (blue arrows) with mission-specific Earth-based tracking stations (blue Earthbased antennas). Earth-based VLBI radio telescopes (three magenta Earth-based antennas) receive radio signals from the spacecraft (yellow arrows) and emission of distant natural celestial radio sources (red arrows). The configuration can operate at X- and/or Ka-bands, (8.4 GHz and/or 32 GHz, respectively). -- astro-ph.EP

Europa, Ganymede, Io, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment as an Operational Component of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission

by Keith CowingAugust 29, 2024August 28, 2024

We present an overview of the operations and engineering interface for Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) radio astronomy observations as a scientific component of the ESA s Jupiter […]

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrobiology Fleet Update: Video: Juice’s Lunar-Earth Flyby

by Keith CowingAugust 28, 2024August 27, 2024

On 19–20 August 2024, Juice successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, with flight controllers guiding the spacecraft first past the Moon, then past Earth. The gravity of the two changed […]

As Juice flew just 6840 km above Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, it snapped a series of images with its onboard monitoring cameras, and collected scientific data with eight of its ten instruments. Larger image

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrobiology Droid Update: Juice Rerouted To Venus After The First lunar-Earth Flyby

by Keith CowingAugust 21, 2024August 21, 2024

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, using the gravity of Earth to send it Venus-bound, on a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner […]

View of our cratered Moon at the top of the image, as captured by the Juice monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) at 23:25 CEST on 19 August 2024, soon after Juice made its closest approach to the Moon. On the left side of the image we see parts of the spacecraft itself. -- Simeon Schmauß & Mark McCaughrean LICENCE CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence (larger image)

Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Status Report

Astrobiology Droid Update: ESA Juice Completes Moon Flyby

by Keith CowingAugust 20, 2024August 21, 2024

During the first step of humankind’s first-ever lunar-Earth flyby, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission captured this stunning view of the Moon.

Optical head of the MAJIS instrument - Dimensions: 912 x 765 x 356 millimetres, weight: 41 kilograms. The aperture of the optics is protected by a red cover. The white structures are external radiators. Image: 1/2, Credit: IAS, LDO, IAPS, CNES und ASI

Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Calibration of MAJIS (Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer): III. Spectral Calibration

by Keith CowingMay 31, 2024May 31, 2024

The Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) is the visible and near-infrared imaging spectrometer onboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.

Ganymede

Through-Ice Acoustic Communication For Ocean Worlds Exploration

Characterization of the Surfaces and Near-Surface Atmospheres of Ganymede, Europa and Callisto by JUICE

Short-Timescale Spatial Variability of Ganymede’s Optical Aurora

Astrobiology Mission Update: Juice Confirms That Earth Is Habitable

A Gigantic Asteroid Impact Shifted The Axis Of Ganymede

Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment as an Operational Component of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission

Astrobiology Fleet Update: Video: Juice’s Lunar-Earth Flyby

Astrobiology Droid Update: Juice Rerouted To Venus After The First lunar-Earth Flyby

Astrobiology Droid Update: ESA Juice Completes Moon Flyby

Calibration of MAJIS (Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer): III. Spectral Calibration

PJ Harvey Announces New Song “Voyager”

Fifty Years after Viking: The Promise of Solar System Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Characterising Transiting Exoplanets At Long Orbital Period: Lessons Learned For PLATO From 10 Years Of Monitoring The HIP41378 System

Implications Of Self-consistent H2O Ice Optical Constants On Radiative Transfer Models Of Disks

The GAPS Programme at TNG LXXIV. A Reanalysis Of The Planetary Systems TOI-1272 And TOI-1694 With HARPS-N And Retraction Of The Planetary Interpretation Of TOI-1272 c