Characterization of the Surfaces and Near-Surface Atmospheres of Ganymede, Europa and Callisto by JUICE
Journal article, 2024
We present the state of the art on the study of surfaces and tenuous atmospheres of the icy Galilean satellites Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, from past and ongoing space exploration conducted with several spacecraft to recent telescopic observations, and we show how the ESA JUICE mission plans to explore these surfaces and atmospheres in detail with its scientific payload. The surface geology of the moons is the main evidence of their evolution and reflects the internal heating provided by tidal interactions. Surface composition is the result of endogenous and exogenous processes, with the former providing valuable information about the potential composition of shallow subsurface liquid pockets, possibly connected to deeper oceans. Finally, the icy Galilean moons have tenuous atmospheres that arise from charged particle sputtering affecting their surfaces. In the case of Europa, plumes of water vapour have also been reported, whose phenomenology at present is poorly understood and requires future close exploration. In the three main sections of the article, we discuss these topics, highlighting the key scientific objectives and investigations to be achieved by JUICE. Based on a recent predicted trajectory, we also show potential coverage maps and other examples of reference measurements. The scientific discussion and observation planning presented here are the outcome of the JUICE Working Group 2 (WG2): “Surfaces and Near-surface Exospheres of the Satellites, dust and rings”.
Icy Galilean satellites
Near-surface atmospheres
JUICE
Surface composition
Geology
Author
F. Tosi
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Thomas Roatsch
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
André Galli
Physics Institute
Ernst Hauber
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Alice Lucchetti
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Philippa Molyneux
Southwest Research Institute
Katrin Stephan
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Nicholas Achilleos
University College London (UCL)
Francesca Bovolo
Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
John Carter
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
T. Cavalie
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux
Paris Observatory
G. Cimo
Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure Consortium (JIVE)
Emiliano D’Aversa
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Klaus Gwinner
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
P. Hartogh
Max Planck Society
Hans Huybrighs
Khalifa University
Dunsink Observatory
Yves Langevin
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
E. Lellouch
Paris Observatory
Alessandra Migliorini
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Pasquale Palumbo
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
G. Piccioni
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Jeffrey J. Plaut
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Frank Postberg
Freie Universität Berlin
François Poulet
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Kurt Retherford
Southwest Research Institute
Ladislav Rezac
Max Planck Society
Lorenz Roth
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Anezina Solomonidou
Hellenic Space Center
Gabriel Tobie
Nantes University
P. Tortora
University of Bologna
Cecilia Tubiana
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Roland Wagner
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Eva Wirström
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
Peter Wurz
Physics Institute
Francesca Zambon
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Marco Zannoni
University of Bologna
S. Barabash
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Lorenzo Bruzzone
University of Trento
Michele Dougherty
Imperial College London
Randy Gladstone
Southwest Research Institute
L. I. Gurvits
Delft University of Technology
Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure Consortium (JIVE)
Hauke Hussmann
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Luciano Iess
Sapienza University of Rome
Jan Erik Wahlund
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
O. Witasse
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
Claire Vallat
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
R. Lorente
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
Space Science Reviews
0038-6308 (ISSN) 1572-9672 (eISSN)
Vol. 220 5 59Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
DOI
10.1007/s11214-024-01089-8
PubMed
39132056