Stunning photo of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io is our best in decades

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has swooped close to Jupiter’s moon Io, capturing this amazing photo of the surface – and even better ones will come soon

By Matthew Sparkes

17 October 2023

Jupiter’s moon Io, as seen on 16 October

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Brian Swift/CC BY

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has taken the best images of Jupiter’s moon Io in decades, as it passed by at a distance of 11,645 kilometres on 16 October.

Io is slightly larger than Earth’s moon and mottled with more than 400 active volcanoes. The shadows of these peaks – some of which are thought to be taller than Mount Everest – can be made out in the latest image, which is shown in enhanced colour.

Even closer images of Io are expected from Juno in coming months as its current orbit takes it successively nearer to the moon with each pass. In February 2024, it is expected to swoop to within 1500 kilometres of Io’s surface.

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The craft was launched in 2011, entered Jupiter’s orbit in 2016 and has been investigating the planet and its many moons ever since.

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Jupiter has 95 known moons and the four largest – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – are known as the Galilean moons. Juno flew within 352 kilometres of Europa last year and provided the closest images in more than two decades.