NASA's Juno spacecraft has directly measured charged oxygen and hydrogen molecules from the atmosphere of one of Jupiter's largest moons, Europa. These observations provide key constraints on the potential oxygenation of its subsurface ocean.
NASA's Juno spacecraft has directly measured charged oxygen and hydrogen molecules from the atmosphere of one of Jupiter's largest moons, Europa. These observations provide key constraints on the potential oxygenation of its subsurface ocean.
In 2022, Juno completed a flyby of Europa, coming as close as 352 kilometers to the moon. The SwRI-developed Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment instrument aboard Juno detected significant amounts of charged molecular oxygen and hydrogen lost from the atmosphere. "We designed JADE to measure the charged particles that create Jupiter's auroras," said SwRI Staff Scientist and co-author Dr. Frederic Allegrini."Flybys of Europa were not part of the primary Juno mission. JADE was designed to work in a high-radiation environment but not necessarily Europa's environment, which is constantly bombarded with high levels of radiation. Nonetheless, the instrument performed beautifully.
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