JupiterJuno passed within 645 miles of Ganymede, the closest any spacecraft has come to the moon since 2000
Nasas Juno spacecraft has provided the first closeups of Jupiters largest moon in two decades.
Juno zoomed past icy Ganymede on Monday, passing within 645 miles (1,038km). The last time a spacecraft came that close was in 2000 when Nasas Galileo spacecraft swept past our solar systems biggest moon.
Astronomers capture new images of Jupiter using ‘lucky’ technique
Nasa released Junos first two pictures on Tuesday, highlighting Ganymedes craters and long, narrow features possibly related to tectonic faults. One shows the moons far side, opposite the sun.
A Nasa image shows the dark side of Ganymede as the Juno spacecraft flies by. Photograph: AP
This is the closest any spacecraft has come to this mammoth moon in a generation, said Junos lead scientist, Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. We are going to take our time before we draw any scientific conclusions, but until then we can simply marvel at this celestial wonder the only moon in our solar system bigger than the planet Mercury.
Ganymede is one of 79 known moons around Jupiter, a gas giant. The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered Ganymede in 1610, along with Jupiters three next-biggest moons.
Launched a decade ago, Juno has been orbiting Jupiter for five years.
{{#ticker}}{{topLeft}}
{{bottomLeft}}
{{topRight}}
{{bottomRight}}
{{#goalExceededMarkerPercentage}}{{/goalExceededMarkerPercentage}}
{{/ticker}}{{#paragraphs}}{{.}}
{{/paragraphs}}{{highlightedText}}
We will be in touch to remind you to contribute. Look out for a message in your inbox in July 2021. If you have any questions about contributing, please contact us.