Questions tagged [jupiter]
Questions about the exploration of the planet Jupiter.
125
questions
-2
votes
1
answer
135
views
What is the value of SpaceX Starship 1200-ton propellant capacity? Would a fully refueled Starship be able to accelerate to Jupiter (for example)? [duplicate]
2200000N (1 Raptor) / 1,300,000*0.4 kg (Total weight adjusted to fuel loss) = 4.2 m/s^2 (acceleration)
Delta-V (to travel to Jupiter) = 9000 m/s
9000 m/s / 4.2 m/s^2 = 2,142 s (1 Raptor engine ...
1
vote
0
answers
54
views
Arctic underwater analogue?
Just want to know if the underneath of the arctic ice sheet is a viable analogue for underwater habitation on the larger moons of the gas giants? (Galilean, large Saturnian)
I feel like it would be a ...
5
votes
1
answer
756
views
Can Juno use Jupiter's gravity to alter its orbit so that it goes close to Himalia?
Himalia is the most massive and second largest non-Galilean moon of Jupiter. Yet, due to its distant orbit, we still don't have sharp images of it. Does Juno have enough fuel to alter its orbit with ...
- 151
1
vote
0
answers
74
views
Why do Saturn's rings have the most ice in them?
From what I've read, Saturn's rings are the most visible because they have an icy structure that makes it so the light is more reflective. Why is that the case, and why do other rings of the gas ...
- 11
10
votes
2
answers
224
views
Why are Jupiter's trojans even remotely stable?
The spacecraft Lucy is en route to explore Jupiter's trojan asteroids. Lucy is so named because the trojan asteroids are believed to be fossil remnants from the formation of the solar sytem. ...
- 3,764
6
votes
2
answers
322
views
Is a ballistic Jovian capture using the Galilean moons possible from interplanetary entry?
While spacecraft like Galileo and Juno did use gravity assist to supplement their insertion burns, as answered here, is it possible to enter Jupiter's orbit without a capture burn?
- 259
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What are these features on this moon of Jupiter?
My Google background (supplied by "NASA Image Library") has a picture of Jupiter, along with one of its moons (Ganymede? Io?) in the foreground.
What are these two features, that look like a ...
- 792
4
votes
1
answer
101
views
Would it be possible to use a electrodynamic tether or similar device on or within Europa to generate electricity from Jupiter's magnetosphere?
I was reading about the idea of using an electrodynamic tether to generate electricity for satellites in Earth's orbit using the planet's magnetic field, generating electricity but gradually lowering ...
- 41
3
votes
1
answer
224
views
Why does Jupiter not appear flat at zero phase angle like the Lommel-Seeliger law says?
Jupiter appears to approximately follow Lambert's cosine law as it looks darker towards its limbs when viewed from the same direction as from where the Sun shines on it. Here an image from the article ...
- 133
5
votes
1
answer
335
views
Flyby puzzler; starting from Earth, how many times can you use Jupiter flybys in one century?
Is there any limit to how many times you can increase velocity by repeated sling shot manoeuvres? and its answers have got me thinking, and that's always dangerous.
Suppose you have a durable RTG-...
- 149k
0
votes
0
answers
64
views
Is there believed to be sharp boundary between Jupiter's liquid and metallic hydrogen layers and is there much convection and flow between them?
If it's not known, is it reasonable to assume that some Jupiter-like exoplanets might have well separated liquid and metallic hydrogen layers given moderately different temperature and mass?
Author: ...
1
vote
0
answers
30
views
Did JUNO adjust it's orbit in order to fly over Clyde's spot again?
Phys.org's Juno returns to 'Clyde's Spot' on Jupiter says:
The feature is informally named for amateur astronomer Clyde Foster of Centurion, South Africa, who discovered it in 2020 using his own 14-...
- 149k
4
votes
0
answers
113
views
Why is it that harmful for astronauts and technology to get too far into Jupiter's magnetosphere? Shouldn't it rather be protective?
Jupiter's radiation belts make it impossible for astronauts to stay on Io, Europa and Ganymede over extended periods of time, as well as getting too close to Jupiter at all. I wonder how close would ...
- 623
9
votes
3
answers
751
views
Did the spacecrafts Galileo or Juno use the Galilean moons for a gravity assist before entering Jovian orbit?
Galileo and Juno are the only two spacecraft to have entered orbit around Jupiter.
Did either of them use one of the Galilean moons for a gravity brake before in order to enter a stable orbit around ...
- 501
5
votes
3
answers
699
views
Why is NASA proposing an EMEJ (MEGA) trajectory for Europa Clipper instead of EEJ?
A launch service request was recently put out for Europa Clipper to do a flyby of Mars on its way to Jupiter. How is that a better trajectory than an EEJ, similar to Juno?
Launch Vehicle Performance: ...
- 120k
5
votes
0
answers
116
views
How close a crewed spacecraft could orbit Jupiter?
How close could a crewed spacecraft orbit Jupiter?
I read that Juno was as close as 5,000 km from Jupiter's top clouds, but I'm wondering about a spacecraft with humans inside (provided it's protected ...
- 51
6
votes
2
answers
257
views
Why is there no plan for a Venus orbiter by ESA or NASA?
A rather complete-looking Wikipedia List of solar system probes enumerates only a few proposed future missions to Venus:
Reading popular science magazines suggests that it would make sense to go ...
- 215
0
votes
1
answer
102
views
Gravity assist from Jupiter if leaving Callisto?
If I spacecraft was leaving Callisto to return to Earth, would there by any situation where it would use a gravity assist from Jupiter to increase its velocity?
- 6,837
4
votes
2
answers
242
views
Was the gravity assist at Jupiter the most dangerous part of the New Horizons mission?
In terms of success of the mission, was the Jupiter fly-by the time when problems with the flight path was most likely to happen?
Was the odds of failure at that point ever studied? If so, what were ...
- 6,837
3
votes
0
answers
108
views
Obtaining Europa's samples from Callisto. Possible to identify them? Worthwhile?
A lot has been discussed about the possibility of panspermia between Earth and Mars, and how compact systems such as Trappist-1 can be more prone to that.
Here on Earth, we have identified numerous ...
1
vote
1
answer
412
views
Why is the highest speed that Voyager 2 achieved from the Jupiter gravity assist not at perijove?
I plotted some data of the speed of Voyager 2 for various times (around the Jupiter flyby) and noticed that the highest speed that Voyager achieved was not at perijove and was wondering why this might ...
- 173
9
votes
1
answer
710
views
Why did Pioneer 11 use a gravitational assist to swing above the ecliptic plane... twice?
This answer to What do the shaded vertical lines in the animation of Gravity assists of space probes, mean? shows that the Pioneer 11 trajectory brought it close to both Jupiter and Saturn, and at ...
- 149k
0
votes
1
answer
611
views
What would happen if Jupiter became solid like Earth and condensed to the size of Earth? [closed]
I just want to know, hypothetically, what if Jupiter was solid and condensed to the size of Earth. What would it look like? Would it's characteristics (gravity, orbit, rotation, etc) stay the same, or ...
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What would it take to survive the radiation on the surface of Ganymede?
Out of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, only Callisto is at a safe distance from its parent planet that the radiation is low enough so one is able to colonize it. Io is totally uncolonizable (from ...
user35272
7
votes
1
answer
499
views
Will Dragonfly flyby Jupiter en route to Saturn?
The table on the "Exploration of Jupiter" Wikipedia page suggests Dragonfly will be the first mission to the outer planets that will not use a gravity assist from Jupiter. Is there a source confirming ...
- 10.3k
5
votes
1
answer
344
views
Would a spacecraft landing on Io need a heat shield?
Io is Jupiter's only moon with a considerable atmosphere. Its atmosphere is extremely thin (up to 40 nbar) which obviously is too thin to use a parachute. However a spacecraft would maybe need a heat ...
user35272
2
votes
3
answers
662
views
Why didn't the Galileo spacecraft take an image in Jupiter's upper atmosphere?
When the Galileo probe was crashed into Jupiter it could have made an image from what is considered the "surface" (level of Earth-like atmospheric pressure) of Jupiter or the atmosphere more below or ...
user35272
1
vote
1
answer
130
views
Could we use the atmospheres of planets like Mars or Jupiter to separate xenon from them to replenish the engines?
Could we use the atmospheres of planets like Mars or Jupiter to separate xenon from them to replenish the engines? I mean, touch the atmosphere of Mars and separate Argon and Xenon for ionic engines, ...
- 1,613
1
vote
1
answer
140
views
Would a space rocket launching from Ceres in a path to Jupiter be faster relatively to the sun than one launching from Earth?
Suppose you have a space rocket which when launching from Earth its speed relatively to Earth it's 11 km/s. For what I've read in another topic in Space SE, the orbital velocity of the planet where a ...
- 885
2
votes
1
answer
137
views
Can mineralogy maps be made without dedicated instruments? MAGIC at Callisto
While we are still waiting for the official Discovery finalists announcement, and it's perhaps a bit premature to be discussing the proposals, I've been thinking about the exciting MAGIC mission to ...
3
votes
2
answers
190
views
How does the dynamics of the Jupiter and Saturn system make them be well suited for low-energy transfer?
Many papers mention that the compact and complex dynamics of the Jupiter and Saturn systems makes them ideal low energy transfer. My question is how?
How does the dynamics of the Jupiter and Saturn ...
- 1,357
20
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Why are we interested in visiting the giant planets' icy moons?
I have noticed lately that future missions by NASA and ESA are targeted towards the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. They mention that they might be a possibility of life; the icy moons they are focusing ...
- 1,357
7
votes
1
answer
407
views
How exactly did Jupiter change Ulysses orbital plane from nearly ecliptic to polar?
Ulysses spacecraft trajectory is truly amazing. Utilizing gravity assist from Jupiter it was sent into polar orbit around the Sun.
I can understand gravity assist concept, I can also (intuitively) ...
- 6,262
9
votes
1
answer
908
views
Is the far side of the tidally locked Europa moon safe from Jupiter's radiation?
From Wikipedia's Europa (moon); Orbit and rotation:
Europa orbits Jupiter in just over three and a half days, with an orbital radius of about 670,900 km....and is tidally locked to Jupiter, with ...
- 648
4
votes
2
answers
220
views
Have gravitation multipoles of Jupiter and Saturn beyond J2 been measured or at least estimated? At least the zonal harmonics?
This excellent answer has me wondering if there are any measurements or estimates of gravitational multipole moments of Jupiter or Saturn beyond J2.
Here is what I found for J2 (in unitless form) in ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
220
views
Did Juno do a plane change circa October 2019? If so, by how much?
There are several reports in the news that the Juno spacecraft executed a very long propulsive maneuver so that it wouldn't pass through Jupiter's shadow. Apparently it would be in dark so long that ...
- 149k
33
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why does this image of Jupiter look so strange?
The Universe Today's Yes, This is Actually the Shadow of Io Passing Across the Surface of Jupiter shows several images of Jupiter taken by JunoCam.
Why does this image look so strange? Instead of an ...
- 149k
-2
votes
2
answers
147
views
How far can a piece of spacecraft go, where the signal still reaches planet Earth?
Right now, we don't know the distance of which the spacecraft can go but at the moment, we can go to Jupiter, but the signal takes a long time to reach back to planet Earth.
5
votes
1
answer
265
views
How does not orbiting Europa maximize Clippers coverage of Europa for a given radiation dose?
According to the BBC's Nasa confirms ocean moon mission:
Europa's orbital path takes it deep into belts of intense radiation that surround the giant planet. This radiation fries spacecraft ...
- 149k
1
vote
0
answers
37
views
What Jovian system science targets would be suitable for Jupiter gravity assist flyby missions with other primary purposes?
Flying by Jupiter for gravity assist, and with the Oberth effect bonus, has been used for multiple missions to other outer planets and to comets. And has potential for use even for missions aiming at ...
- 26.7k
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How unreachable are Jupiter's moons from Mars with the technology developed for going to Mars?
Jupiter's moons in their closest point to Mars (when Jupiter is closest to the sun) are like 7 times the distance between Earth and Mars, and in a return journey they will farther away. Is there any ...
- 885
7
votes
1
answer
165
views
Would radio / wifi and other communications work on Jupiter's moons?
I've read that Jupiter emits a lot of EM radiation, and can also be heard on ham radio. If you were much closer would it drown out radio and other forms of communication, or is it confined to specific ...
- 145
3
votes
2
answers
222
views
Recent "HORIZON" juno mission on TV
Having just watched the excellent "HORIZON" documentary on Juno Mission, I am left with a small problem. In the programme they said it was likely that Jupiter was probably formed before any of the ...
- 31
13
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Are any electrically propelled missions to the outer solar system being planned? If not why not?
In answering this question I discover that a probe capable of $10^{-4}$ G continuous acceleration can get to Europa (starting from LEO) in about 16 months. Assuming I haven't made a mistake in my ...
- 19.2k
5
votes
2
answers
193
views
Does Juno's UVS have any chance to spot Europa plumes?
JIRAM has recently been proven to be useful to monitor the volcanic activity on Io, from a considerable distance.
Europa Clipper will have an ultraviolet spectrograph which be pretty much a copy of ...
- 467
20
votes
1
answer
3k
views
If colonists burrowed far enough under the ice on Ganymede or Europa, would the ice provide adequate protection for them from Jupiter's radiation?
This is a hypothetical question I'm asking as a SF writer, and the time setting would be approximately 2,250 AD.
- 309
8
votes
1
answer
298
views
What is the difference in resolution between the cameras in Voyager and Juno?
Both Voyager I and the Juno spacecraft photographed Jupiter (among other things). What is the difference in camera resolution between the two spacecraft? Did we receive larger photos from Juno?
- 3,541
10
votes
1
answer
577
views
What exactly is the interaction that blocked Juno's data downlink near solar conjunction?
According to Space.com's article Juno Phones Home: Jupiter Probe Reconnects with Earth After 8th Flyby, Juno's recent close flyby of Jupiter and data collection happened while Jupiter was too close to ...
- 149k
17
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How much longer would New Horizons take to reach Pluto without the Jupiter slingshot?
A recent answer by PearsonArtPhoto claims:
New Horizons was launched at Solar System Escape Velocity, meaning it could have visited anywhere beyond Earth without stopping. It did visit Jupiter, ...
- 54.1k
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
When are there launch windows to Neptune via Jupiter?
I suppose there's a launch window to Neptune by using Jupiter as often as there are Jupiter/Neptune conjunctions, every 13½ years. But which years are Jupiter and Neptune best aligned for gravity ...
- 26.7k