Juno Measures the Heat Below Io's Restless Surface

Juno Measures the Heat Below Io's Restless Surface

Juno's Microwave Radiometer (MWR) was built peer deep down into Jupiter's massive atmosphere. But during the spacecraft's extended mission, it's been studying the Galilean moons. During two flybys of volcanic Io, the spacecraft its MWR to measure the heat flowing from deep within the moon.

NASA’s Juno Probe Has Seen Inside The Solar System’s Most Volcanic World, And It's Pretty Hellish In There

Juno flew just 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) above Io. As well as being surprisingly smooth, there are mysteries lurking below the surface.

Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io, hides intense heat beneath its porous crust

NASA’s Juno spacecraft measured heat below Io’s surface for the first time and found temperatures rise sharply just a few feet underground. Io’s surface appears surprisingly smooth and covered in lightweight, porous material similar to pumice or fluffy volcanic ash. The findings may help scientists understand how heat moves through volcanic worlds, including Io, other moons, and possibly volcanoes on Earth. Io’s surface may look like a frozen sn…