Jupiter's volcanic moon captured in stunning image by NASA's Juno spacecraft

NASA's Juno mission spacecraft successfully completed its 47th close pass of Jupiter on December 14. This image of the gas giant's volcanic moon Io was captured by the spacecraft's JunoCam on December 14 from a distance of about 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometres).

Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with over 400 active volcanoes. It is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and is the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System.

Io's surface is covered in sulfur and sulfur dioxide frost and is constantly being reshaped by intense volcanic activity. Its volcanism is driven by tidal heating from the gravitational pull of Jupiter and the other Galilean moons - Europa and Ganymede. This tidal heating produces a large amount of heat, which is released through volcanism.

The moon's volcanism is responsible for its bright yellow and orange colors, as well as its unique atmosphere, which is composed mostly of sulfur dioxide.

The JunoCam instrument aboard the #JunoMission spacecraft captured this image of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io on Dec. 14 from a distance of about 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers). The team expects additional images from the pass to be available soon at https://t.co/NsryeNwVbI https://t.co/gvT9O4nGV8 pic.twitter.com/gjsIEes1c5

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) December 29, 2022

Juno spacecraft, which is the most distant orbiter of NASA, is set to make its next close approach to Jupiter on January 22, 2023. The probe will keep studying the biggest planet in the solar system until September 2025, or until the end of its mission.

After the 47th flyby of Jupiter, the solar-powered orbiter had difficulty sending its science data to mission controllers, so they put it into safe mode. On December 23, NASA reported that the spacecraft is regaining its memory and should be out of safe mode in approximately one week.