NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew by Jupiter’s moon Europa from a distance of 352 kilometers on Thursday. Europa is the fourth largest of the 79 known moons of Jupiter, slightly smaller than the moon, has a thin atmosphere, and is thought to have a liquid ocean beneath its surface ice. Scientists hope that the Juno spacecraft will be able to observe the jet of water sprayed from Europa’s surface during this mission. The spacecraft was flying over Europa at very high speeds, with NASA JPL deputy mission manager John Bordi estimating the relative velocity as high as 23.6 kilometers per second. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft flew over Europa in January 2000 from a distance of 351 kilometers. The data collected on this mission will benefit future Jupiter moon exploration missions, such as NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch in 2024, and will study Europa’s atmosphere, surface and interior to see if it could support life beneath the surface.
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