Io Archives

September 20, 2024September 20, 2024 by Evan Gough

Io’s Volcanoes are Windows into its Hot Interior

Juno captured this image of Io during Perijove 57. Data from Juno's JIRAM instrument is helping researchers understand how tidal heating shapes the moon's volcanic activity. Image Credit: NASA / SWRI / MSSS / Jason Perry © cc nc sa

NASA’s Juno spacecraft was sent to Jupiter to study the gas giant. But its mission was extended, giving it an opportunity to study the unique moon Io. Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, with over 400 active volcanoes.

Researchers have taken advantage of Juno’s flybys of Io to study how tidal heating affects the moon.

September 11, 2024September 11, 2024 by Evan Gough

Juno Sees a Brand New Volcano on Io

These are JunoCam images of Jupiter's moon Io from its 3 February 2024 encounter. The first two images show Io illuminated by Jupiter-shine, and the rest are lit up by sunlight. The new volcano was captured in the second image in the sequence. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.

Jupiter’s moon, Io, is the most volcanic body in the Solar System. NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been getting closer and closer to Io in the last couple of years, giving us our first close-up images of the moon in 25 years.

Recent JunoCam images show a new volcano that appeared sometime after the Galileo spacecraft visited the region.

August 22, 2024August 22, 2024 by Evan Gough

Comparing Two Proposed NASA Missions to Jupiter’s Moon Io

Thanks to NASA’s Juno mission to the Jupiter system, we’re getting our best looks ever at the gas giant’s volcanic moon Io. Even as Juno provides our best views of the moon, it also deepens our existing questions. Only a dedicated mission to Io can answer those questions, and there are two proposed missions.

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 by Evan Gough

Volcanic Plumes Rise Above Lava Lakes on Io in this Juno Image

Juno's JunoCam instrument captured this image of two plumes rising from Io's surface. The image was taken from a distance of 3,800 km away. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Andrea Luck (CC BY)

As the most volcanic object in the Solar System, Jupiter’s moon Io attracts a lot of attention. NASA’s Juno spacecraft arrived at the Jovian system in July 2016, and in recent months, it’s been paying closer attention to Io.

Though Io’s internal workings have been mostly inscrutable, images and data from Juno are starting to provide a fuller picture of the strange moon’s volcanic inner life.