As Jupiter is another gas giant, Tanno and Iguda could only visit some of its moons. In particular, they went to Io and Europa.
Io is a rocky, volcanic moon, you can see its Tvashtar volcano exploding near the top of it.
Europa is an ice world with a liquid sea under the ice. In this picture we just see it as a crescent, about 4 million kilometres away.
| Jupiter factfile | |
|---|---|
| Position from the sun | 5th planet |
| Diameter | 143,000 km |
| Distance from sun | 780,000,000 km |
| Day length | 10 hours |
| Year length | 11.9 years |
| Number of moons | 53 (plus 26 possibles) |
| Surface temperature | 462 °C |
| Gravity | 24.8 m/s2 |
| Atmosphere | Hydrogen, helium |
Jupiter in 3D, use your mouse to turn the planet and make it bigger and smaller.
Source: NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)
This is a ‘mosaic’ image of Jupiter’s moon Io. That means it’s many photos all put together to make the overall picture. The photos were taken by the Voyager 1 space probe, and the surface is thought to be covered in sulfur and sulfur dioxide.
Can you find two great volcanoes: Pele and Loki ?
Image Credit: NASA/JPL
Here’s an awesome view of Jupiter’s moon Europa, taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 1995.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Activity
Astrobiologists work out ways to find life on other planets, if there is any! Tanno and Iguda have been following the Pontus which is an unmanned robot craft, searching the solar system for life.
Imagine you are an astrobiologist on the mission control team for the Pontus. Write a research plan, explaining why Europa is a good place to search for life, and include notes on what the Pontus should check for. You could include some ideas for experiments to do there. Watch the video below for help and information.
You can go to the previous secret pages by clicking the planets below.
