Tag: icy moon
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Scientists use Cassini data to discover new molecules in Enceladus water jets
Located around Saturn is the icy moon Enceladus — one of the most interesting and potentially habitable moons in the solar system. NASA’s Cassini mission extensively studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 to 2017 and, in 2005, revealed large geyser-like jets extending from Enceladus’ south pole. Later studies would suggest that a massive subsurface…
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Over a month into mission, Europa Clipper continues deploying instruments
On Oct. 14, NASA’s groundbreaking Europa Clipper mission launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Falcon Heavy’s 27 Merlin engines and single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine sent Europa Clipper on a trajectory out of the Earth-Moon system at a speed of approximately 35 km/s relative…
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NASA, SpaceX launch historic Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter
NASA and SpaceX have launched NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Falcon Heavy launched during an instantaneous launch window on Monday, Oct. 14, at 12:05 PM EDT (16:05 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If Monday’s attempt…
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As Europa Clipper nears October launch date, scientists anticipate groundbreaking results
Later this year, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center with one of the most highly-anticipated and monumental planetary science missions of the decade — Europa Clipper. The mission will see the spacecraft travel to the smallest of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, Europa, to investigate the…
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Juno measures oxygen production on Europa
Using NASA’s Juno spacecraft, scientists have calculated the rate of oxygen production on Jupiter’s moon Europa — the first time any spacecraft had directly measured charged oxygen and hydrogen particles from the moon’s atmosphere. From these measurements, the team determined the rate of oxygen production to be much lower than estimated in previous studies. Europa,…
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Juno discovers salts and organic compounds on Ganymede’s surface
After a flyby of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, in 2021, Juno and a team of scientists have discovered the presence of mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of the icy moon. The new findings will allow scientists to better understand where Ganymede came from and the composition of its deep subsurface ocean. For…
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Cassini data reveals the presence of phosphorus in Enceladus’ ocean plumes
A team of scientists, using archival data from NASA’s now-retired Cassini mission, has discovered the presence of phosphorus in the massive plumes of water being ejected from the southern regions of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Phosphorus — a chemical element essential for life and often considered a building block for life — is locked inside of…