Europa

The complex patterns of the grooved terrain on Ganymede are apparent in high-resolution images. This picture, taken by Voyager 1 on March 5, has a resolution of about 3 kilometers and shows a region about the size of the state of Pennsylvania. The mountain ridges are spaced about 10 to 15 kilometers apart and rise about 1000 meters, similar to many of the mountains of Pennsylvania. The transections of different mountain systems indicate that they formed at different times. A degraded crater near the left center of the picture is crossed by ridges, indicating that it predated the period of crustal deformation and mountain building. [P-21279]

Ray systems of exposed water-ice are visible in this high-resolution mosaic of Ganymede, obtained by Voyager 2 on July 9 at a range of about 100 000 kilometers. The rough mountainous terrain at lower right is the outer portion of a large fresh impact basin that postdates most of the other terrain. At the bottom, portions of grooved terrain transect other portions, indicating an age sequence. The dark patches of heavily cratered terrain (right center) are probably ancient icy material formed prior to the grooved terrain. The large rayed crater at upper center is about 150 kilometers in diameter. [P-21770B/W]

The many variants of smooth and grooved terrain on Ganymede suggest a complex geologic history for this satellite. Four high-resolution views by Voyager 2 are grouped together. [260-678A]

A band of low mountain ridges has apparently been cut and offset by a fault.

Multiple sets of mountain ridges transect at nearly right angles. Some impact craters were formed before, and some after, the grooved terrain.

Many short parallel ridges butt into each other, making a crazy-quilt pattern.

In the center of this frame is an unusual smooth area, perhaps the result of flooding of the surface by material that filled in the grooves.

As one proceeds inward through the Galilean satellites, these worlds become less and less familiar to the planetary geologist. This was an unexpected effect. Callisto and Ganymede were expected to have unusual properties as a result of their large percentage of ice. The densities of Europa and Io are more normal for the smaller, terrestrial-type planets, and before Voyager many scientists expected these two satellites might look much like the Moon, which they resemble in size.

Europa, with a diameter of 3130 kilometers, is about 15 percent smaller than the Moon. Its density is 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter, indicating a basically rocky composition. However, cosmic mixtures of rocky and metallic materials are often a bit denser than this, leaving room for a substantial component of ice or water. Calculations indicate that if allthe ice were at the surface, it might form a crust up to 100 kilometers thick.

Shaded relief map of Europa. [260-659]

Telescopic observations of Europa demonstrated long before Voyager that this satellite is almost completely covered with ice. It is a white, highly reflecting body, looking, from a great distance, like a giant snowball. In the early Voyager pictures, Europa always showed a bland, white disk, in striking contrast to the spottiness of Ganymede or the brilliant colors of Io.

Voyager 1 never got closer to Europa than 734 000 kilometers, and at that distance it remained a nearly featureless planet, with no obvious impact craters or other familiar geologic structures. What did show in the Voyager 1 pictures, however, were numerous thin, straight dark lines crisscrossing the surface, some extending up to 3000 kilometers in length. To the members of the Imaging Team, these features were “strongly suggestive of global-scale tectonic processes, induced either externally (as by tidal despinning) or internally (as by convection).” It was with the greatest interest that the Voyager 2 images, taken from about four times closer, were anticipated.

The spectacular pictures obtained of the satellite in July were perhaps more confusing than clarifying. Europa is entirely covered with dark streaks that vary in width from several kilometers to approximately 70 kilometers and in length from several hundred to several thousand kilometers. Most streaks are straight, but others are curved or irregular. The streaks lie on otherwise smooth, bright terrain, featureless except for numerous random dark spots, most less than 10 kilometers in diameter.

Voyager 2 photos showed, in addition to the smooth terrain with its dark streaks, regions of darker, mottled terrain. This mottled terrain appears rough on a small scale, and it may contain small craters just on the limit of resolution (about 4 kilometers). Only three definite impact craters have been identified, each about 20 kilometers across. This small number of craters suggests either that the surface is relatively young or that craters are not preserved for long in the icy crust.

Although the dark streaks give Europa a cracked appearance, the streaks themselves are not obviously cracks. They are not depressed below their surroundings; in fact, they have no topographic structure whatever. Europa is extraordinarily smooth, and the dark streaks look rather like marks made with a felt-tipped pen on a white billiard ball. The streaks are not even very dark; the contrast with adjacent smooth terrain is only about 10 percent.

One of the most remarkable geologic phenomena discovered by Voyager is the lightstreaks that appear on Europa. These are smaller than the dark streaks, only about 10 kilometers in width, but much more uniform. Seen at low Sun angle, they also show vertical relief of less than a few hundred meters. These light ridges are seen best at low Sun and tend to be invisible at higher illumination angles.

The most amazing thing about the light ridges is their form. Instead of being straight, they form scallops or cusps, with smooth curves that repeat regularly on a scale of 100 to a few hundred kilometers. In some of the low-Sun-angle pictures, the surface of Europa seems to be covered with a beautiful network of these regular curving lines. The impression is so bizarre that one tends not to believe the reality of what is seen. Nothing remotely like it has ever been seen on any other planet.

At present the geology of Europa remains beyond our understanding. Presumably there is a thick ice crust, perhaps floating on a liquid water ocean. Presumably there is sufficient heat coming from the interior to have produced cracking or motion in the ice crust, and the light and dark streaks preserve a pattern in some way related to this internal activity. However, the actual mechanisms for producing the observed features so lightly traced on this smooth white world remain for scientists to decipher.

Europa looks like a cracked egg in this computer mosaic of the best Voyager 2 images. In this presentation, the variation of surface brightness due to the angle of the Sun has been removed by computer processing, so that surface features can be seen equally well at all places. The many broad dark streaks show up well, but this presentation does not bring out the much fainter and more enigmatic light streaks. These pictures were taken from a distance of about 250 000 kilometers and show features as small as 5 kilometers across. [260-686]

The most spectacular of the Galilean satellites is Io. Even in low-resolution images, its brilliant colors of red, orange, yellow, and white set it apart from any other planet. The dramatic scale of its volcanic activity confirms that Io is in a class by itself as the most geologically active planetary body in the solar system.

The diameter of Io is 3640 kilometers, and its density is 3.5 grams per cubic centimeter. Both values are nearly identical to those of our Moon. Were it not for Io’s proximity to Jupiter, it would probably be a dead, rocky world much like Earth’s satellite.

Careful examination of all the Voyager images of Io, some of which have resolutions as good as 1 kilometer, has failed to reveal a single impact crater. Yet the flux of crater-producing impacts at Io must be even greater than for the other Galilean satellites, because of the focusing effect of Jupiter’s gravity. The absence of craters alone would indicate that Io has an extremely young and dynamic planetary surface, even without the observation of active volcanoes. Calculations indicate that craters on Io must be filled in or otherwise obliterated at a rate corresponding to the deposition of at least 100 meters per million years, and quite probably a factor of ten greater, or 1 meter every thousand years.

One of the most remarkable of all the Voyager discoveries was the arcuate white ridges on Europa. Visible only at very low Sun angle, these curved bright streaks are 5 to 10 kilometers wide and rise at most a few hundred meters above the surface. Their graceful scalloped pattern is unique to this planet and has defied explanation. Also visible in this view, taken by Voyager 2 on July 9 at a range of 225 000 kilometers, are dark bands, more diffuse than the light ridges, typically 20 to 40 kilometers wide and hundreds to thousands of kilometers long. [P-21766]

Shaded relief map of Io as it appeared in early March 1979. [260-634BC]

The great erupting volcanoes on Io produce distinctive surface markings. These are three views of Prometheus (P₃). The bright ring on the surface rims the areas of fallout from the plume, and it is probably an area in which sulfur dioxide frost is being deposited on the surface. [260-451]

Prometheus.

These views are of Loki (P₂) as seen by Voyager 1. [260-451]

The asymmetric structure of the plume can be seen.

Loki.

An ultraviolet image has been used to produce a false-color composite; the large ultraviolet halo above the visible-light plume may be due to scattering from sulfur dioxide gas rather than solid particles.

Perhaps the most spectacular of all the Voyager photos of Io is this mosaic obtained by Voyager 1 on March 5 at a range of 400 000 kilometers. A great variety of color and albedo is seen on the surface, now thought to be the result of surface deposits of various forms of sulfur and sulfur dioxide. The two great volcanoes Pele and Loki (upper left) are prominent. [260-464]

In place of impact craters, the surface of Io has a great many volcanic centers, which generally take the form of black spots a few tens of kilometers across. In a few cases, high-resolution pictures show the characteristic shapes associated with volcanic calderas on Earth and Mars, and, if the other volcanic centers are similar, about 5 percent of the entire surface of Io is occupied by calderas. These are extremely black, reflecting less than 5 percent of the sunlight; often they are surrounded by irregular, diffuse halos nearly as black as the central spot. The calderas seem more like the Valles caldera in New Mexico, which is associated with vents that produced large quantities of ash, than with those of Hawaiian-type shield volcanic mountains.

There is evidence in many of the Voyager photos of extensive surface flows on Io. These originate in dark volcanic centers and either spread to fan shapes, typically 100 kilometers across, or else snake out in long, twisting tentacles. Some of the flows are lighter than the background and some are darker. Most are red or orange in color, often outlined by fringes of contrasting albedo.

The equatorial regions of Io are quite flat, with no vertical relief greater than about 1 kilometer high; indeed, many of the volcanic centers do not appear to correspond to mountains or domes at all. There are, however, a number of long, curvilinear cliffs or scarps and narrow, straight-walled valleys a few hundred meters deep. These appear to be places in which the crust has broken under tension, somewhat similar to terrestrial faults and the valleys called graben. A few rugged mountains of uncertain origin are visible in low Sun elevation pictures.

Near the poles of Io the terrain is more irregular. There are few volcanic centers, but more mountains, some with heights of several kilometers. In addition, there are regions that appear to be made of stacked layers of material. These so-called layered terrains are revealed when erosion cuts into them, exposing the layers along the cliff or scarp. The largest such plateau or mesa has an area of about 100 000 square kilometers. The scarps sometimes intersect each other, suggesting a complex history of deposition, faulting, and erosion. Voyager geologists believe that these scarps may be areas in which the release of liquid sulfur or sulfur dioxide has undercut cliffs, analogous to internal sapping by groundwater at similar scarps on Earth.

Perhaps the most distinctive surface features on Io are the circular or oval albedo markings that surround the great volcanoes. The first of these to be seen was the 300-kilometer-wide white donut of Prometheus, on the equator at longitude 150°. Much more spectacular is the hoofprint of Pele, about 700 by 1000 kilometers. These symmetric rings mark the locations of the kinds of eruptions that generate large fountains or plumes, and may be produced by condensible sulfur or sulfur dioxide raining down from the volcanic fountain. At least one new ring appeared during the four months between the Voyager encounters, centered at longitude 330°, latitude +20°, but by the time Voyager 2 photographed this area, no plume remained active.

During the Voyager 1 flyby, temperature scans of the surface of Io were made with the infrared interferometer spectrometer (IRIS). A number of localized warm regions were found, the most dramatic being just south of the volcano Loki. Here the images showed a strange, U-shaped black feature about 200 kilometers across. The IRIS team interpreted its data to indicate a temperature for the black feature of 17° C (or room temperature), in contrast to the surrounding surface at -146° C. Perhaps the dark feature was some sort of lava lake, either of molten rock or molten sulfur. The melting point of sulfur is 112° C. If there were a scum of solidifying sulfur on top of the “lake,” this interpretation might well be the correct one.

The brilliant reds and yellows of the surface of Io immediately suggest the presence of sulfur. When heated to different temperatures and suddenly cooled, sulfur can assume many colors, ranging from black through various shades of red to its normal light-yellow appearance.

Even before Voyager, laboratory studies had shown that sulfur matches the overall properties of the spectrum of Io, including the low albedo in the ultraviolet and the high reflectivity throughout the infrared. Contemporary with the Voyager flybys, additional telescopic observations and laboratory studies by Fraser Fanale at JPL and Dale Cruikshank at the University of Hawaii identified another component on Io, sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide is an acrid gas released from terrestrial volcanoes, where it combines with water in the Earth’s atmosphereto produce sulfuric acid. At the temperature of the surface of Io, sulfur dioxide is a white solid. Researchers guessed that the extensive bright white areas in the Voyager pictures of Io might be covered with sulfur dioxide frost or snow. The presence of this material on Io was confirmed when the infrared IRIS instrument obtained a spectrum of sulfur dioxide gas over the erupting volcano Loki during the Voyager 1 encounter.

Close-ups of Io reveal a wide variety of volcanic phenomena. This Voyager 1 view of an equatorial region near longitude 300° shows several large surface flows that originate in volcanic craters or calderas. At the right edge is a light flow about 250 kilometers long. Another dark, lobate flow with bright edges is just left of center, with an exceedingly dark caldera to its left. [260-468A]

The discovery of the ongoing eruptions on Io, made shortly after the Voyager 1 flyby, did much to clarify the confused evidence pouring in concerning the apparent youth of Io’s surface. Here, under the very eyes of Voyager, eruptions were taking place on a scale that dwarfed anything ever seen before. The discovery picture alone, taken from a distance of 4 million kilometers, showed two eruptions (Pele and Loki), each of which was much larger than the most violent volcanic eruption ever recorded on Earth.

Voyager 1 found eight giant eruptions, with fountains or plumes rising to heights of between 70 and 280 kilometers. To reach these altitudes, the material must have been ejected from the vents at speeds of between 300 and 1000 meters per second, several times greater than the highest ejection velocities from terrestrial volcanoes. Although widely spaced in longitude, these volcanoes were concentrated toward the equator; seven of the eight were at latitudes between +30° and -30°, and the eighth at -44°.

When Voyager 2 arrived four months later, it was able to reobserve seven of the eight volcanoes. (To be identified reliably, the volcanic plumes must be silhouetted against dark space at the edge of the disk.) Six of these were still erupting; one, Pele, the largest plume seen by Voyager 1, had ceased activity. The plume associated with Loki had also changed markedly, increasing in height from 100 to 210 kilometers in visible light. (All the plumes appear larger when viewed in the ultraviolet.) Loki had developed a more complex structure; in March it appeared to originate near the south end of a 250-kilometer-long dark feature, but in July there was a double plume, with activity at both ends of the dark feature.

Differences in surface elevation can clearly be seen in a few of the Io close-ups from Voyager 1. This remarkable picture is of the center of the great volcano Pele, at latitude 15°S and longitude 224°. A low mountain with flow features can be seen. In the background, there are several large irregular depressions with flat floors that appear to be the result of collapse. The diffuse dark features in the center are probably the ejecta plumes being erupted from the Pele vent. [P-21220B/W]

At the highest resolution obtained by the Voyager cameras, Io revealed some landscapes that looked familiar to terrestrial geologists. This picture, taken by Voyager 1 at a range of only 31 000 kilometers, shows a region about the size of the state of Maryland at a resolution of 300 meters. Clearly seen is a volcano not too different from some of those on the Earth or Mars. At the center is an irregular composite crater or caldera about 50 kilometers in diameter with dark flows radiating from its rim. The style of volcanism illustrated here is quite different from the explosive plumes or fountains with their associated rings of bright material deposited on the surface. This volcano is located at about longitude 330°, latitude 70°S. [260-502]

In addition to its giant volcanic plumes or fountains, Io possesses other indications of current volcanic activity. One of these takes the form of intermittent blue-white patches that may be caused by gas venting from the interior. In this pair of photographs, the same region of the surface is shown about six hours apart. On the right, there is an arcuate bright gas cloud; on the left the same region is black. It is believed that the venting gas is sulfur dioxide, and that the condensation of this gas produces fine particles of “snow” that look blue. [260-508]

Some of the most dramatic changes in the surface of Io between March and July took place in the vicinity of the volcano Loki, at longitude 310° and latitude 15°N. On the left is a Voyager 1 view; on the right, one from Voyager 2. The “lava lake” associated with Loki has become less distinct, apparently as a result of deposits that fell on the northern part of the dark U-shaped feature. Perhaps the surface had also cooled between these photos. In the upper left center, a new dark volcanic caldera with bright spots near it and a large, faint bright ring had appeared by July, although it was not active at the time Voyager 2 flew by. [260-687AC]

No new eruptions were seen by Voyager 2; between them, the two spacecraft effectively surveyed the whole surface of Io for plumes down to 40 kilometers height. Interestingly, the smallest plume seen was 70 kilometers high; there appeared to be a real absence of smaller eruptions.

From the number and size of the observed eruptions, it is possible to calculate the resurfacing rate for Io due to these plumes. The result is that each plume is erupting about 10 000 tons of material per second, or more than 100 billion tons per year. This quantity corresponds to about 10 meters of deposition over the whole surface in a million years. When additional note is taken of surface flows, the deposition rate could easily be ten times higher, or 100 meters per million years, in agreement with the rate estimated from the absence of impact craters.

Clearly, something extraordinary is happening to Io to generate the observed level of volcanism. The primary heat source for the interiors of the terrestrial planets is the decay of the long-lived radioactive elements thorium and uranium. But Io would have to be supplied with a hundred times its quota of these elements to explain the observed activity.

A way out of this difficulty was provided by a theoretical investigation carried out by Stanton Peale of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Pat Cassen and Ray Reynolds at the NASA Ames Research Laboratory. Working in the months before the first Voyager flyby, they calculated that the tidal effects of Jupiter on Io could generate large-scale heating of the satellite. Io is about the same distance from Jupiter as the Moon from Earth, but the much greater mass of Jupiter raises enormous tides in its satellite. These tides distort its shape, but no other effect would be present if Io remained at a constant distance from Jupiter. What Peale, Cassen, and Reynolds realized was that the distance of Io from Jupiter varies as the result of small gravitational perturbations from the other Galilean satellites. Therefore the tidal distortions also vary, in effect squeezing and unsqueezing Io each orbit. Such flexing pumps energy into the interior of Io in the form of heat; theorists calculated that the heat supplied could be as high as 10¹³ watts. They predicted, in a paper published just three days before the Voyager flyby of Io, that “widespread and recurrent surface volcanism might occur,” and that “consequences of a largely molten interior may be evident in pictures of Io’s surface returned by Voyager.”

Voyager 2 obtained beautiful views of the volcanic eruptions during its ten-hour Io volcano watch on July 9. On the edge of the crescent image are the volcanoes Amirani (P₅) and below it Maui (P₆), each sending up fountains about 100 kilometers above the surface. The blue color is probably the result of sunlight scattered by tiny particles of sulfur dioxide snow condensing in the erupting plume. [P-21780]

Between the two encounters, the volcanic eruption at Loki (P₂) changed character. The single plume emanating from the western end of an apparent dark fissure seen in March was joined by a second fountain of similar size about 100 kilometers to the east. The plume also increased in height, from about 120 kilometers in the Voyager 1 image (left) to 175 kilometers in the Voyager 2 image (right). [260-662A and B]

The detailed structure near the volcano Loki is like nothing seen elsewhere on Io. [260-642B]

When this Voyager 1 picture was taken, the main eruptive activity (P₂) came from the lower left of the dark linear feature (perhaps a rift) in the center. Below it is the “lava lake,” a U-shaped dark area about 200 kilometers across. In this specially processed image, detail can be seen in the dark surface of this feature, possibly due to “icebergs” of solid sulfur in a liquid sulfur lake.

(Bottom) The IRIS on Voyager 1 found this “lava lake” to be the hottest region on Io, with a temperature about 150° C higher than that of the surrounding area.

One model for the structure of Io indicates that an ocean of liquid sulfur with a solid sulfur crust covers most of the satellite. Heat escapes from the interior in the form of lava, which erupts beneath the sulfur ocean. Secondary eruptions in the sulfur ocean heat liquid sulfur dioxide, which is mixed with solid sulfur in the crust. The rapid expansion of sulfur dioxide gas then produces the great eruptive plumes, which consist of a mixture of solid sulfur, sulfur dioxide gas, and sulfur dioxide snow.

The Voyager observations appear to confirm the theoretical calculations. The tidal heat source has presumably been acting since Io was formed more than 4 billion years ago. With a totally molten interior and continuing large-scale volcanism, Io has had an opportunity to thoroughly sort out its composition. In the process it would have lost all the volatile gases such as water and carbon dioxide, explaining why Io now has no appreciable atmosphere in spite of the outpouring of material from the interior. In addition, most of the sulfur from the interior could have risen to the surface, where it would be constantly recycled through volcanic activity.

The presence of large amounts of sulfur on the surface may help explain the extraordinary nature of the Io volcanoes. One model considered for the satellite postulates that it is covered by a sea of liquid sulfur several kilometers deep, with a crust of solid sulfur and, below the surface, liquid sulfur dioxide. Calculations by Sue Kieffer of the U.S. Geological Survey and others indicate that the expansion of the sulfur dioxide in such a model can explain the observed eruption velocities of up to a kilometer per second.

The volcanic plumes on Io appear to be made primarily of sulfur and sulfur dioxide. Both are molten as they emerge from the vent, but they quickly cool as the plume rises 100 or more kilometers into the near vacuum of space. Unlike terrestrial volcanoes, there is almost no gas in the plumes. It requires about half an hour for the fine particles of solidified sulfur and sulfur dioxide snow to fall back to the surface, where they form the colorful rings that mark the major eruptive sites.

Almost all the roughly 100 000 tons of material erupted each second by the Io volcanoessnows back to the surface. But apparently a part—perhaps 10 tons per second—escapes from Io and is captured by the Jovian magnetosphere. Another part contributes to an ionosphere—a tenuous atmosphere of electrons and ions—that surrounds Io. The injection of several tons of particles each second into the magnetosphere has dramatic consequences that can be seen even from Earth.

Direct evidence of an atmosphere on Io was obtained during the Voyager 1 flyby by the IRIS. In the region near the volcano Loki and its associated “lava lake,” infrared spectra clearly showed the signature of sulfur dioxide gas. It is not known whether this gas was a temporary feature associated with the eruption of Loki or if it might be present on Io more generally. Other evidence, however, points to the sulfur dioxide atmosphere as a transient feature. A small amount of the sulfur dioxide escapes and is broken apart by sunlight to provide the oxygen and sulfur ions observed in the Io torus.

Surrounding Jupiter at the distance of Io is a donut-shaped volume, or torus, of plasma that originates at the satellite. At first, the atoms escaping from Io expand outward as a gas, but soon they are stripped of electrons and become electrically charged. Some of these gases, such as sulfur dioxide, apparently originate in the large volcanic eruptions; other, such as the sodium cloud being studied with Earth-based telescopes, result from sputtering of surface materials by energetic particles in the magnetosphere. After they are ionized by the loss of one or more electrons, the atoms are caught by the spinning magnetic field of Jupiter and become a part of what is called a co-rotating plasma, spinning at 74 kilometers per second with the same ten-hour period as Jupiter itself.

The Io torus was easily detected on Voyager by the ultraviolet spectrometer, even from a distance of 150 million kilometers. The strongest ultraviolet radiation comes from twice-ionized sulfur (atoms that have lost two electrons) (S III), emitting a wavelength of 69 nanometers or about one-eighth the wavelength of visible light. The spectrometer also detected glows from atoms of triply ionized sulfur (S IV) and twice-ionized oxygen (O III).

At the time of the Voyager 1 encounter, the most abundant heavy ions in the Jovian magnetosphere were sulfur and oxygen. Multiply ionized sulfur and oxygen both emit strongly in the ultraviolet, where they could be observed by the ultraviolet spectrometer. This spectrum of the Io torus registers the tremendous amount of ultraviolet energy (about a million million watts) being radiated. To emit so strongly, the temperatures in the torus must be near 100 000 K.

Direct measurement of the heavy ions associated with the Io torus were made by the Voyager 1 LECP instrument. Here the amounts of various elements are shown for two cases: the Jovian inner magnetosphere (solid line) and a typical solar event. Both the Jovian and the solar particles have been scaled to show similar amounts of oxygen, but the solar particles are also rich in carbon and iron, whereas Jupiter has a great deal of sulfur. Evidence such as this demonstrates that the sulfur does not come from the Sun; rather, the sulfur and most of the oxygen appear to be the product of the Io sulfur dioxide volcanic eruptions.

Scans across the torus showed that it had a thickness of 1.0 RJand was centered at a distance of 5.9 RJfrom Jupiter. The torus is centered on the magnetic, rather than the rotational, equator of the planet. To produce the intense glow observed, the electron temperatures in the torus must be 100 000 K, with an electron density of about 1000 per cubic centimeter. The brightness in the ultraviolet corresponds to a radiated power of more than a million million (10¹²) watts. This enormous amount of energy must be continuously supplied by the magnetosphere.

The ultraviolet emissions from the Io torus seen by Voyager were dramatically different from those seen in 1973 and 1974 with the simpler ultraviolet instrument on board Pioneers 10 and 11. These changes correspond to more than a factor of 10 in brightness. As noted by the Voyager Team, “Because of the remarkable differences we conclude that the Jupiter-Io environment has changed significantly since December 1973. The observed differences are so spectacularly large that this conclusion does not depend on a detailed comparison of the two instruments, their calibrations, or the observing geometry.” The reason for this change, or the degree to which it reflects a large-scale variation in the volcanic activity of Io, is one of the major questions arising from the Voyager mission.

The Io torus can also be observed from the ground. In 1976, spectra showed the glow of singly ionized sulfur (S II), and in 1979 singly ionized oxygen (O II) was detected. The observations of S II and O II are particularly interesting because they provide a measure of the density and temperature of the plasma. In April 1979, between the two Voyager flybys, Carl Pilcher of the University of Hawaii succeeded in obtaining a telescopic image of the torus in the light of S II. He measured nearly the same ring diameter (5.3-5.7 RJ) as had Voyager; interestingly,both agree that the sulfur torus is centered slightly inside the orbit of Io (6.0 RJ).

The emission of light from sulfur ions in the Io torus is so strong it can be measured from the Earth. In these pictures, University of Hawaii astronomer Carl Pilcher photographed the torus in the light of ionized sulfur on the night of April 9, 1979. As the planet rotates, the torus is seen first partly opened, then edge-on, and again opened in the opposite direction. The dark band on the right of each image is due to light from Jupiter scattered in the telescope, as shown in the bottom picture, which contains the scattered light only.

Direct measurements of the torus were made from Voyager 1 as the spacecraft passed twice through this region, once inbound and once outbound. The low energy charged particle instrument and the cosmic ray instrument both determined that the composition of the ions in the Io torus was primarily sulfur and oxygen. Ionized sodium was also observed. For several years, ground-based telescope observations had revealed a cloud of neutral sodium around Io; the Voyager instruments picked up these atoms after they had each lost an electron and become trapped in the magnetosphere. These instruments also derived the electron and ion density (about 1000 per cubic centimeter) and confirmed that the ions were co-rotating with the inner magnetosphere.

Another Io-associated phenomenon searched for by Voyager was the Io flux tube. As a conductor moving through the Jovian magnetic field, Io generates an electric current, estimated to have a strength of about 10 million (10⁷) amperes and a power of the order of a million million (10¹²) watts. The region of space through which this current flows from the satellite to Jupiter is called the flux tube.

Voyager 1 was targeted to fly through the Io flux tube. This was an important decision, since this option precluded the possibility of obtaining occultations by either Io or Ganymede. The event was to take place on March 5, just after closest approach to Io. The effects of the flux tube were clearly observed by the magnetometer, the LECP instrument, and other particle and field instruments; however, subsequent analysis indicated that the spacecraft had not penetrated the region of maximum current flow; it probably missed the center of the flux tube between 5000 and 10 000 kilometers.

The flux tube is not the only connection between Io and Jupiter. Radio emissions from the atmosphere are triggered by Io’s orbital position, and the aurorae that illuminate Jupiter’s polar regions are the result of charged particles falling into the planet from the Io torus. Other charged particles can occasionally escape outward and be detected as far away as Earth.

Io is unquestionably a remarkable world. The only planetary body known to be geologically more active than the Earth, it provides many extreme examples to test the theories of geoscientists. Its intimate interconnections with the Jovian magnetosphere and the planet itself provide a unifying theme to the complex processes taking place in the inner parts of the Jovian system.

The Galileo Probe will make a fiery entry into the Jovian atmosphere, carrying a payload of scientific instruments for the first direct sampling of the atmosphere of a giant planet. Shown here is the moment, at a pressure level of about 0.1 bar, when the parachute is deployed and the still-glowing heatshield drops free from the Probe.

The spectacular discoveries of the Voyagers did not exhaust our interest in the Jovian system. Both the giant planet and its system of satellites will almost certainly play a central role in any future program of solar system exploration and research. Thus, even as the two Voyager spacecraft directed their attention further outward toward Saturn, NASA had begun development of the next Jupiter mission, named Galileo.

Galileo is an ambitious, multiple-vehicle planetary mission. It has two major interlocking elements: a probe to be placed in the atmosphere of Jupiter and an orbiter to explore Jupiter, its satellites, and its magnetosphere. By using individual satellite flybys to alter its orbit, the Galileo spacecraft can carry out a satellite “tour” consisting of flybys of the Galilean satellites at different geometries and a deep penetration into the magnetosphere in the unexplored region of space behind Jupiter.

Both an atmospheric probe for the planet and a long-lived orbiter to study the satellites and magnetosphere are logical successors to Voyager. In 1974, three years before Voyager launch, the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences was already emphasizing the scientific advantages of both of these approaches. In suggesting goals for 1975-1985, the Board wrote, “We recommend that a significant effort in the NASA planetary program over the next decade be devoted toward the outer solar system. Jupiter is the primary object of outer solar system exploration.” Looking at specific mission goals, the Board recommended that “the primary objectives in the exploration of Jupiter and its satellites for the period 1975-1985 in order of importance are (1) determination of the chemical composition and physical state of its atmosphere, (2) the chemical composition and physical state of the satellites, and (3) the topology and behavior of the magnetic field and the energetic particle fluxes. In order to carry out this program, it will be necessary to utilize orbiting spacecraft and probe-delivering spacecraft.”

In the same period NASA carried out studies of two possible orbiter and probe missions. Working through the Ames Research Center, a scientific panel chaired by James Van Allen explored the adaptation of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spinning spacecraft to carry a probe to Jupiter and to carry out an orbiter mission emphasizing magnetospheric studies. William B. Hubbard of the University of Arizona chaired a JPL-based panel investigating the use of a Mariner-class fully stabilized spacecraft similar to Voyager to carry out a satellite-oriented orbiter mission. In 1976 these concepts were combined in a study, again chaired by Dr. Van Allen, of a Voyager-type orbiter with probe-carrying capability. This mission concept was given the name JOP, for Jupiter Orbiter Probe, and lead responsibility was assigned by NASA to JPL, with Ames carrying out the design of the probe.

In 1977, as Voyager activity was building toward autumn launch, a struggle was underwayin Washington to obtain approval for the new Jupiter orbiter and probe mission. Budgeting authority was requested in the President’s Fiscal Year 1978 budget, but only after extensive testimony and several Congressional votes was the mission approved. The official new start for JOP, soon to be renamed Galileo, was set for July 1, 1977, and the scientific investigators and their instruments were selected in August.

At JPL, many members of the Voyager Team made a smooth transition to the Galileo Project. Much of the knowledge that had gone into the design of the Voyager spacecraft and its subsystems was now incorporated into Galileo. Similarly, at Ames the knowledge gained from the design of the Pioneer Venus probes, which were launched to Venus in 1978, a year after Voyager launch, was applied to design of a Jupiter probe. Among the individuals who brought their Voyager experience to Galileo were John Casani, who left the position of Voyager Project Manager to become Galileo Project Manager, and Torrence Johnson of the Voyager Imaging Team, who became Galileo Project Scientist.

The investigations of Jupiter and its system planned for the Galileo Project represented substantial advances over those carried out by Voyager. In part, this was the result of new spacecraft capabilities, particularly the atmospheric entry probe. It also represented increasing sophistication in scientific instrumentation over the seven-year interval between the selection of the payloads for the two missions.

The main emphasis in the study of Jupiter itself is on direct measurements with the Probe. For the first time it will be possible to examine directly the atmosphere of a giant planet. By measuring the temperature and pressure as it descends through the clouds, the Probe can determine the structure of the atmosphere with much higher precision than could ever be obtained from remote observations. The structure, in turn, provides information on dynamics—the circulation and heat balance of the Jovian atmosphere. In addition, the Probe can make direct measurements of the composition of the gases, with sensitivity in some cases to quantities as low as a few parts per billion. In addition to the elemental abundance, the amount of different isotopes can also be measured.

Direct studies of the clouds of Jupiter can be made from the Galileo Probe. With a device called a nephelometer (literally, cloud-meter), the sizes and compositions of individual aerosol particles will be determined. An infrared instrument will determine the temperatures of the cloud layers and measure the amounts of sunlight deposited in different regions of the atmosphere. Another instrument will search for lightning; it has the ability to detect both the flash of light and the radio static generated by each bolt.

Additional studies of the atmosphere, similar to those of Voyager, can be carried out from the Galileo Orbiter. Television pictures, ultraviolet and infrared spectra, and measurements of the polarization of reflected light will all be obtained with the same scan platform instruments that are used to study the surfaces of the satellites.

A full battery of fields and particles instruments is planned for the Galileo Orbiter. Many of these are direct descendants of Voyager instruments. In general, their capabilities have been improved, particularly their ability to determine the composition of charged particles. There is a steady progression from Pioneer to Voyager to Galileo: The early measurements were concentrated on particle energies, but more sophisticated instruments yield the composition of the ions and the details of their motion.

Many of the advances expected from Galileo in magnetospheric studies result from the Orbiter’s ability to explore many parts of the environment of Jupiter. The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft made single cuts through the magnetosphere, and often it was difficult to distinguish temporal from spatial effects. Galileo will repeatedly swing around Jupiter, sampling conditions at many distances from the planet over a time span of two years or more. In addition, it is planned to adjust the orbit of Galileo to swing out into the magnetotail, the turbulent region of the magnetosphere that stretches “downwind” from Jupiter for hundreds of Jupiter radii. No flybys can reach the magnetotail; an orbiting spacecraft is required.

The Galilean satellites naturally will be a primary focus of Galileo science, particularly after Voyager. It is planned to have as many as a dozen individual encounters, most of them at much closer range than the Voyager flybys. To take advantage of these opportunities, theGalileo scan platform will carry two new remote sensing systems.

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