One giant planet. Three icy moons. An eight-year journey. One special spacecraft.
Callisto
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Juice Spacecraft Makes Earth-Moon Flyby On Its Astrobiology-Themed Mission
On 17 November 2023, ESA’s Juice spacecraft carried out one of the largest and most important manoeuvres in its eight-year journey to Jupiter.
Posted inAstrogeology, Callisto, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Thermal Properties Of The Leading Hemisphere Of Callisto Inferred From ALMA Observations
We present a thermal observation of Callisto’s leading hemisphere obtained using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) at 0.87 mm (343 GHz). The angular resolution achieved for this observation was […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Source Of Radio Emissions Induced By The Galilean Moons Io, Europa and Ganymede: in situ Measurements By Juno
At Jupiter, part of the auroral radio emissions are induced by the Galilean moons Io, Europa and Ganymede. Until now, except for Ganymede, they have been only remotely detected, using […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Combining Astrometry and JUICE — Europa Clipper Radio Science To Improve The Ephemerides Of The Galilean Moons
The upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions to Jupiter’s Galilean satellites will provide radio science tracking measurements of both spacecraft. Such data are expected to significantly help estimating the moons’ […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Away Team Report: New Hydrothermal Vent Fields Discovered On Earth’s Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Astrobiology.com Editor’s Note: as we start to send our robotic astrobiology explorers to the Jovian system to explore icy ocean worlds Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, the skills developed exploring (the […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
JUICE Leaves Earth On An Astrobiology Expedition To Jupiter’s Ocean Moons
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Spotlight On Ganymede, JUICE’s Primary Target
A key focus of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will be Ganymede: Jupiter’s largest moon, and an ideal natural laboratory for studying the icy worlds of the Solar System.
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
The Optical Aurorae of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
The tenuous atmospheres of the Galilean satellites are sourced from their surfaces and produced by a combination of plasma-surface interactions and thermal processes. Though thin, these atmospheres can be studied […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mimas, Pluto, Press Release, Triton
Spectroscopic Detection of Biosignatures in Natural Ice Samples as a Proxy for Icy Moons
Some of the icy moons of the solar system with a subsurface ocean, such as Europa and Enceladus, are the targets of future space missions that search for potential extraterrestrial […]