Io’s escaping atmosphere is the dominant source of material in the Jovian magnetosphere, a vast bubble of charged particles swirling around the gas giant. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM The Complex Dynamics of Io and Jupiter Juno’s JIRAM instrument images Io’s hot spots, data that will be complemented by Hubble and Webb telescope datasets. SwRI is leading a study to understand how Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system, contributes to Jupiter’s plasmasphere. “We hope to gain new insights into Io’s dramatic volcanism, plasma-moon interactions, and the neutral gas and plasma populations that propagate through Jupiter’s vast magnetosphere and trigger intense Jovian auroral emissions.” Kurt Retherford, principal investigator of the campaign, largely using 4.7% of available time for Hubble observations this cycle and supplemented with 4.8 hours of Webb observing time. Over the next year, Juno will buzz past Io several times, offering rare opportunities to combine in situ and remote observations of this complex system,” said SwRI’s Dr. Collaborative Observational Opportunities Large Hubble projects request 75 orbits or more this project will collect data during 122 orbits, which is how Hubble telescope time is allocated. The study will complement the upcoming flybys of the Jupiter moon by NASA’s Juno spacecraft and will provide insights into Io’s contributions to the plasma environment around Jupiter. The Space Telescope Science Institute recently awarded Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) a large project to use the Hubble and James Webb telescopes to remotely study Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Remote-sensing data will complement Juno spacecraft’s in situ observations. Juno’s upcoming flybys offer an excellent opportunity for combining intensive in situ measurements with Earth-based remote sensing to understand Io’s volcanic contributions to the plasma environment around Jupiter. Southwest Research Institute will lead a large Space Telescope Science Institute project using the Hubble and James Webb telescopes to remotely study Io during complementary flybys of the Jupiter moon by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

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