High-res Images to Guide Future Europa Mission
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Text, News From The Universe. May 18, 2020
High-Res Images to Guide Future Europa Mission
Scientists are using modern image processing techniques to create new views of Jupiter's moon Europa.
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Originally taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on September 26, 1998, the images of Europa's icy surface have been carefully reprocessed to show new detail.
The new images are preparation for NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which will study the moon in detail, including the predicted ocean beneath the ice.
Close-up images show rough, striated surface areas.
Text, Areas that appear light blue or white are made of relatively pure water ice, and reddish areas have more non-ice materials, such as salts.
The long, linear ridges and bands that crisscross the surface are thought to be a result of the moon being stretched and pulled by Jupiter's strong gravity.
Following on these observations by Galileo, Europa Clipper will shed some new light on the mysteries of the moon's surface, and the ocean below.
This news was brought to you in part by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA