NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to make its closest flyby to Jupiter's icy moon Europa in over 20 years on Thursday, September 29. DNA news outlet reports that the flyby mission is part of an expedition to drill deep into the ice of Europa in search of liquid water.

The space agency is planning future missions, like the Europa Clipper scheduled for flight in 2024 to investigate the icy moon. Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute explained that Europa is an intriguing moon and is currently the focus of future NASA missions. Juno's flyby will give additional information to Europa Clipper to help plan its mission.

Juno Spacecraft Set to Make Its Closest Approach to Europa As Part of the Mission of Looking for Liquid Water
(Photo : Pixabay/Andrew-Art)
Juno Spacecraft Set to Make Its Closest Approach to Europa As Part of the Mission of Looking for Liquid Water

Significance of Juno's Closest Flyby to Europa

Juno has been examining Jupiter since 2016 and now it will be approaching Europa at 5:36 am EDT (3:06 pm IST) and will come as close as 358km from the surface of the icy moon, Republicworld.com reports. It is the first time that scientists will observe Europa this close in over 20 years since the last time was the Galileo probe's flyby that flew over 350km from the surface.

As NASA said, the flyby will play an important role in Europa Clipper's mission that will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, surface, and interior to better understand its ocean and thickness of its crust as well as investigate the subsurface water being vented out in space.

The Juno spacecraft will obtain the highest-resolution images ever taken on some parts of Europa's surface and will also collect valuable data on the interior, surface composition, ionosphere, and its interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere.

Jupiter's icy moon Europa is indeed an interest to scientists because of its vast oceans that could be present beneath its icy crust. Scientists believe that it could harbor undiscovered signs of life. Juno will begin its observations on the moon even though it is at 83,397km from it and traveling at a relative velocity of 23.6km/s.

NASA said the spacecraft will be in the shadow of Europa when it flies closest to the icy moon. Fortunately, the atmosphere of Jupiter will reflect enough sunlight for the spacecraft to collect data in visible light.

READ ALSO: Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa 'Glows in the Dark' Due to Radiation, Scientists Say

Cassini Spacecraft's View of Jupiter's Two Important Moons

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System and has 79 natural satellites that constantly orbit it. But two of its important moons, Io and Europa, have caught the attention of scientists.

According to California18, a video made with the data from the Cassini space probe shows their orbital transit, wherein one of them has greater speed than the other. These moons look tiny compared to the immensity of Jupiter. Scientists wonder if these moons have elements that allow the development of life like here on Earth.

Io is bigger than Europa with an estimated extension of 1,821km, which is also bigger than the Earth's moon with only 1,737km. On the other hand, Europa is slightly smaller than the Moon with an extension of 1,560km.

Cassini space probe is a joint project by NASA, ESA, and the Italian space agency and was launched in 1997 to study Saturn. But since Jupiter was also in its path, the spacecraft was also able to capture data to reveal previously unseen information about it.

Scientists continue to study information about Jupiter from the Cassini space probe to analyze the data that it took. The spacecraft disintegrated on September 15, 2017, after entering Saturn.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa Could Host Life and Be Home to Our Space Neighbors

Check out more news and information on Europa in Science Times.