2000-08-22 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Galileo returning data on Ganymede and Europa
This week the Galileo spacecraft is beaming back to Earth readings taken by several of its scientific instruments. The data will give scientists a clearer understanding of two of Jupiter's ice-encrusted moons, Europa and Ganymede.
Evidence is building that below Europa's ice lies an ocean of liquid water. Some scientists have speculated that the same may be true of Ganymede, although many others think this unlikely. Astrobiologists generally believe that liquid water is a precondition for life.
Galileo's magnetometer, which measures magnetic fields, may help resolve the question. Changes in the magnetic field may indicate the presence of a large body of salt water.
The magnetometer has previously detected changes in Jupiter's magnetic field around Europa and around Callisto, another ice-covered moon of Jupiter.
In the case of Ganymede, the magnetometer measures not the planet's magnetic field, but the moon's (Ganymede is the only moon in our solar system that generates a magnetic field of its own).
Galileo is also transmitting data collected by its other instruments. Readings from the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) will reveal the distribution of ice and other materials on the surface of Ganymede. Photos taken by the Solid-State Imaging camera (SSI) will permit scientists to better understand how the terrain of Ganymede was formed.
The data on Ganymede were collected during a flyby in May. The next flyby of Ganymede is set for December.
The transmission from Galileo will also include information on Europa. Recent observations made by the Photopolarimeter Radiometer (PPR) will provide details on the surface texture of Europa. Measurements from NIMS will point out any unusually warm spots there, which could indicate the presence of ice volcanoes.
(Sources: Spaceflight Now/NASA, UCLA Daily Bruin, NASA)
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from Spaceflight Now/NASA, Aug 22, 2000
Jan 20, 2000 (UCLA Daily Bruin)
Data may indicate water on Jupiter's moon
Data from the Galileo space probe add to the evidence of liquid water on Europa. Previous measurements point to possible water on Callisto as well. Similar readings will be taken of Ganymede later in the year.
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