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Jupiter Mapping Traces Changes in Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact Sites
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
JunoCam, the visible light imager aboard NASA’s Juno, captured this enhanced-color view of Ju-piter’s northern high latitudes from an altitude of about 36,000 miles (58,000 kilometers) above the giant planet’s cloud tops during the spacecraft’s 69th flyby on Jan. 28, 2025. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Jackie Branc (CC BY) New data from the agency’s Jovian orbiter sheds light on the fierce winds and cyclones of the gas giant’s northern reaches and volcanic action on its fiery moon.
NASA’s Juno mission has gathered new findings after peering below Jupiter’s cloud-covered atmosphere and the surface of its fiery moon, Io. Not only has the data helped develop a new model to better understand the fast-moving jet stream that encircles Jupiter’s cyclone-festooned north pole, it’s also revealed for the first time the subsurface temperature profile of Io, providing insights into the moon’s inner structure and volcanic activity.
Team members presented the findings during a news briefing in Vienna on Tuesday, April 29, at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
“Everything about Jupiter is extreme. The planet is home to gigantic polar cyclones bigger than Australia, fierce jet streams, the most volcanic body in our solar system, the most powerful aurora, and the harshest radiation belts,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “As Juno’s orbit takes us to new regions of Jupiter’s complex system, we’re getting a closer look at the immensity of energy this gas giant wields.”
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Made with data from the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno, this animation shows the south polar region of Jupiter’s moon Io during a Dec. 27, 2024, flyby. The bright spots are locations with higher temperatures caused by volcanic activity; the gray areas resulted when Io left the field of view.NASA/JPL/SwRI/ASI – JIRAM Team (A.M.) Lunar Radiator
While Juno’s microwave radiometer (MWR) was designed to peer beneath Jupiter’s cloud tops, the team has also trained the instrument on Io, combining its data with Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) data for deeper insights.
“The Juno science team loves to combine very different datasets from very different instruments and see what we can learn,” said Shannon Brown, a Juno scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “When we incorporated the MWR data with JIRAM’s infrared imagery, we were surprised by what we saw: evidence of still-warm magma that hasn’t yet solidified below Io’s cooled crust. At every latitude and longitude, there were cooling lava flows.”
The data suggests that about 10% of the moon’s surface has these remnants of slowly cooling lava just below the surface. The result may help provide insight into how the moon renews its surface so quickly as well as how as well as how heat moves from its deep interior to the surface.
“Io’s volcanos, lava fields, and subterranean lava flows act like a car radiator,” said Brown, “efficiently moving heat from the interior to the surface, cooling itself down in the vacuum of space.”
Looking at JIRAM data alone, the team also determined that the most energetic eruption in Io’s history (first identified by the infrared imager during Juno’s Dec. 27, 2024, Io flyby) was still spewing lava and ash as recently as March 2. Juno mission scientists believe it remains active today and expect more observations on May 6, when the solar-powered spacecraft flies by the fiery moon at a distance of about 55,300 miles (89,000 kilometers).
This composite image, derived from data collected in 2017 by the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno, shows the central cyclone at Jupiter’s north pole and the eight cy-clones that encircle it. Data from the mission indicates these storms are enduring fea-tures.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM Colder Climes
On its 53rd orbit (Feb 18, 2023), Juno began radio occultation experiments to explore the gas giant’s atmospheric temperature structure. With this technique, a radio signal is transmitted from Earth to Juno and back, passing through Jupiter’s atmosphere on both legs of the journey. As the planet’s atmospheric layers bend the radio waves, scientists can precisely measure the effects of this refraction to derive detailed information about the temperature and density of the atmosphere.
So far, Juno has completed 26 radio occultation soundings. Among the most compelling discoveries: the first-ever temperature measurement of Jupiter’s north polar stratospheric cap reveals the region is about 11 degrees Celsius cooler than its surroundings and is encircled by winds exceeding 100 mph (161 kph).
Polar Cyclones
The team’s recent findings also focus on the cyclones that haunt Jupiter’s north. Years of data from the JunoCam visible light imager and JIRAM have allowed Juno scientists to observe the long-term movement of Jupiter’s massive northern polar cyclone and the eight cyclones that encircle it. Unlike hurricanes on Earth, which typically occur in isolation and at lower latitudes, Jupiter’s are confined to the polar region.
By tracking the cyclones’ movements across multiple orbits, the scientists observed that each storm gradually drifts toward the pole due to a process called “beta drift” (the interaction between the Coriolis force and the cyclone’s circular wind pattern). This is similar to how hurricanes on our planet migrate, but Earthly cyclones break up before reaching the pole due to the lack of warm, moist air needed to fuel them, as well as the weakening of the Coriolis force near the poles. What’s more, Jupiter’s cyclones cluster together while approaching the pole, and their motion slows as they begin interacting with neighboring cyclones.
“These competing forces result in the cyclones ‘bouncing’ off one another in a manner reminiscent of springs in a mechanical system,” said Yohai Kaspi, a Juno co-investigator from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. “This interaction not only stabilizes the entire configuration, but also causes the cyclones to oscillate around their central positions, as they slowly drift westward, clockwise, around the pole.”
The new atmospheric model helps explain the motion of cyclones not only on Jupiter, but potentially on other planets, including Earth.
“One of the great things about Juno is its orbit is ever-changing, which means we get a new vantage point each time as we perform a science flyby,” said Bolton. “In the extended mission, that means we’re continuing to go where no spacecraft has gone before, including spending more time in the strongest planetary radiation belts in the solar system. It’s a little scary, but we’ve built Juno like a tank and are learning more about this intense environment each time we go through it.”
More About Juno
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Italian Space Agency funded the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft. Various other institutions around the U.S. provided several of the other scientific instruments on Juno.
More information about Juno is at: https://www.nasa.gov/juno
News Media Contacts
DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Deb Schmid
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
210-522-2254
dschmid@swri.org
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Last Updated Apr 29, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is loaded into the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in this photo from March 20, 2025. There, the spacecraft will undergo testing such as dramatic temperature changes to simulate the harsh environment of space.
The IMAP mission is a modern-day celestial cartographer that will map the solar system by studying the heliosphere, a giant bubble created by the Sun’s solar wind that surrounds our solar system and protects it from harmful interstellar radiation. The IMAP mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, no earlier than September 2025.
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This artist’s concept shows astronauts working on the Moon alongside different technology systems. The Data & Reasoning Fabric technology could help these systems operate in harmony, supporting the astronauts and ground control on Earth.Credit: NASA Imagine your car is in conversation with other traffic and road signals as you travel. Those conversations help your car anticipate actions you can’t see: the sudden slowing of a truck as it begins to turn ahead of you, or an obscured traffic signal turning red. Meanwhile, this system has plotted a course that will drive you toward a station to recharge or refuel, while a conversation with a weather service prepares your windshield wipers and brakes for the rain ahead.
This trip requires a lot of communication among systems from companies, government agencies, and organizations. How might these different entities – each with their own proprietary technology – share data safely in real time to make your trip safe, efficient, and enjoyable?
Technologists at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley created a framework called Data & Reasoning Fabric (DRF), a set of software infrastructure, tools, protocols, governance, and policies that allow safe, secure data sharing and logical prediction-making across different operators and machines. Originally developed with a focus on providing autonomous aviation drones with decision-making capabilities, DRF is now being explored for other applications.
This means that one day, DRF-informed technology could allow your car to receive traffic data safely and securely from nearby stoplights and share data with other vehicles on the road. In this scenario, DRF is the choreographer of a complex dance of moving objects, ensuring each moves seamlessly in relation to one another towards a shared goal. The system is designed to create an integrated environment, combining data from systems that would otherwise be unable to interact with each other.
“DRF is built to be used behind the scenes,” said David Alfano, chief of the Intelligent Systems Division at Ames. “Companies are developing autonomous technology, but their systems aren’t designed to work with technology from competitors. The DRF technology bridges that gap, organizing these systems to work together in harmony.”
Traffic enhancements are just one use case for this innovative system. The technology could enhance how we use autonomy to support human needs on Earth, in the air, and even on the Moon.
Supporting Complex Logistics
To illustrate the technology’s impact, the DRF team worked with the city of Phoenix on an aviation solution to improve transportation of critical medical supplies from urban areas out to rural communities with limited access to these resources. An autonomous system identified where supplies were needed and directed a drone to pick up and transport supplies quickly and safely.
“All the pieces need to come together, which takes a lot of effort. The DRF technology provides a framework where suppliers, medical centers, and drone operators can work together efficiently,” said Moustafa Abdelbaky, senior computer scientist at Ames. “The goal isn’t to remove human involvement, but help humans achieve more.”
The DRF technology is part of a larger effort at Ames to develop concepts that enable autonomous operations while integrating them into the public and commercial sector to create safer, efficient environments.
“At NASA, we’re always learning something. There’s a silver lining when one project ends, you can identify a new lesson learned, a new application, or a new economic opportunity to continue and scale that work,” said Supreet Kaur, lead systems engineer at Ames. “And because we leverage all of the knowledge we’ve gained through these experiments, we are able to make future research more robust.”
Choreographed Autonomy
Industries like modern mining involve a variety of autonomous and advanced vehicles and machinery, but these systems face the challenge of communicating sufficiently to operate in the same area. The DRF technology’s “choreography” might help them work together, improving efficiency. Researchers met with a commercial mining company to learn what issues they struggle with when using autonomous equipment to identify where DRF might provide future solutions.
“If an autonomous drill is developed by one company, but the haul trucks are developed by another, those two machines are dancing to two different sets of music. Right now, they need to be kept apart manually for safety,” said Johnathan Stock, chief scientist for innovation at the Ames Intelligent Systems Division. “The DRF technology can harmonize their autonomous work so these mining companies can use autonomy across the board to create a safer, more effective enterprise.”
Further testing of DRF on equipment like those used in mines could be done at the NASA Ames Roverscape, a surface that includes obstacles such as slopes and rocks, where DRF’s choreography could be put to the test.
Stock also envisions DRF improving operations on the Moon. Autonomous vehicles could transport materials, drill, and excavate, while launch vehicles come and go. These operations will likely include systems from different companies or industries and could be choreographed by DRF.
As autonomous systems and technologies increase across markets, on Earth, in orbit, and on the Moon, DRF researchers are ready to step on the dance floor to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“When everyone’s dancing to the same tune, things run seamlessly, and more is possible.”
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Last Updated Mar 20, 2025 Related Terms
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By USH
Io, Jupiter’s famous volcanic moon, is already the most volcanically active place in the solar system. But between Halloween and Christmas of 2024, something happened that was extreme, even by Io’s standards.
Its south pole erupted in a way astronomers weren’t even sure was possible. A super volcano exploded with such force that it was visible from space as a massive dark blotch in the atmosphere. In infrared, the eruption was so intense that it saturated scientific sensors.
How Big Was This Eruption? To grasp the scale, imagine Io were the size of Earth. This super volcano would cover an area larger than Texas, larger than Egypt. The aftermath would trigger a global volcanic winter lasting years, possibly decades.
The eruption unleashed energy equivalent to 260 Yellowstone's and its lava field could bury everything from New York to Kansas under 10 feet of molten rock or stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. Every minute, the eruption released energy equal to 1.5 million Hiroshima bombs.
Just think about this: Earth’s most devastating volcanic event, the Siberian Traps eruption, lasted for a million years and led to one of the worst mass extinctions in history. Io’s super volcano, at its current rate, would surpass that in just 800 years. Over a million years, it could spew out the equivalent of 1% of Earth’s entire mantle. If the volume of this eruption were spread evenly across Earth, our planet’s landscape would be completely transformed in a matter of days.
Even in a solar system filled with astonishing phenomena, Io continues to shock and surprise us.
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