In December 2023 and February 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently in orbit around and investigating Jupiter and the Jovian system, made several close flybys of the innermost of the Galilean moons, Io. During the flybys, Juno came as close as 1,500 kilometers from the surface of Io, during which extensive data and imagery of the moon were captured.
From the imagery and data, scientists were able to make the first up-close observations of the northern latitudes of Io, as well as sharp mountains and lava lakes. Furthermore, Juno’s recent flybys of Jupiter allowed scientists to refine their understanding of Jupiter’s polar cyclones and water abundance.