Protecting Jupiter’s Icy Moons from the Earth’s biological contamination is a key consideration for the Europa Clipper mission. The mission’s goal is to explore Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and investigate its […]
Jupiter
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Apps - Games, Astrogeology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Status Report
MultIHeaTS: A Fast and Stable Thermal Solver for Multilayered Planetary Surfaces
A fully implicit scheme is proposed for solving the heat equation in 1D heterogeneous media, available as a computationally efficient open-source Python code. The algorithm uses finite differences on an […]
Posted inGas Giants, Jupiter, Press Release
Mystery Of Famed Brown Dwarf Gliese 229B Solved
Hundreds of papers have been written about the first known brown dwarf, Gliese 229B, since its discovery by Caltech researchers at the Institute’s Palomar Observatory in 1995. But a pressing […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Uranus
Sulfur in the Giant Planets, their Moons, and Extrasolar Gas Giant Planets
We review sulfur chemistry of the gas giant planets and their moons where sulfur compounds are observed. The major S-bearing gas in the upper atmospheres of the giant planets is […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa Clipper Astrobiology Explorer Sets Sail
NASA’s Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Volcano World Survey: Observations Of Loki Patera By Juno During Close Flybys
We used data from the Juno spacecraft to investigate both the spatial and temporal properties of Loki Patera on Io, acquired in two infrared bands between December 2022 and April […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
SwRI-Developed Instruments Will Study Potential Habitability Of Europa
Two Southwest Research Institute instruments were launched aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Oct. 14 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft is designed to conduct a detailed reconnaissance […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiology.com on Deutsche Welle: Europa Clipper and ESA Juice
Editor’s note: I was just on Deutsche Welle talking about the Europa Clipper mission – as well as ESA’s Juice mission – and how they will work in tandem exploring […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Astrobiology Fleet Update: ESA Juice Tests SwRI Ultraviolet Spectrograph
As European Space Agency (ESA)’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft hurtled past the Moon and Earth in mid-August to provide its first gravity assist maneuver to the Jovian system, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Spacecraft Is Truly Immense
In this image a single human is seen standing next to an immense space droid, Europa Clipper. This is the largest planetary exploration spacecraft that NASA has ever created. And […]