OPS1 | Broadening our understanding of Jupiter’s icy moons and their environment

OPS1

Broadening our understanding of Jupiter’s icy moons and their environment
Conveners: Ines Belgacem, Claire Vallat, Mathieu Choukroun, Sam Fayolle

This year, ESA’s JUICE mission will make its first (double) gravity assist this summer as it heads toward Jupiter and NASA’s Europa Clipper is preparing to launch in October 2024. Both missions will arrive at Jupiter in the early 2030s and are poised to provide unprecedented insights into the complex, enigmatic, and potentially habitable icy moons of the Jupiter system. This session aims to prepare for these missions, by bringing together scientists across the planetary community to discuss the latest advancements in our understanding of the Jupiter system, its icy moons in particular, and the implications for habitability, geology, and planetary science.

This session invites the community to share their latest icy Jovian science endeavors, with a particular focus on Europa and Ganymede. This includes 1) the geology and properties of their surface, 2) their interior structures, properties, and processes, especially of their subsurface oceans and icy shells; 3) the complex moon-magnetosphere interactions, in particular, the effects of radiation on their surface; 4) their exospheres and possible Europa plumes. We also want to feature highlights from the JUICE and Europa Clipper missions, including mission objectives, instrumentation, recent developments, and unique opportunities for dual-spacecraft synergistic observations.

This year, ESA’s JUICE mission will make its first (double) gravity assist this summer as it heads toward Jupiter and NASA’s Europa Clipper is preparing to launch in October 2024. Both missions will arrive at Jupiter in the early 2030s and are poised to provide unprecedented insights into the complex, enigmatic, and potentially habitable icy moons of the Jupiter system. This session aims to prepare for these missions, by bringing together scientists across the planetary community to discuss the latest advancements in our understanding of the Jupiter system, its icy moons in particular, and the implications for habitability, geology, and planetary science.

This session invites the community to share their latest icy Jovian science endeavors, with a particular focus on Europa and Ganymede. This includes 1) the geology and properties of their surface, 2) their interior structures, properties, and processes, especially of their subsurface oceans and icy shells; 3) the complex moon-magnetosphere interactions, in particular, the effects of radiation on their surface; 4) their exospheres and possible Europa plumes. We also want to feature highlights from the JUICE and Europa Clipper missions, including mission objectives, instrumentation, recent developments, and unique opportunities for dual-spacecraft synergistic observations.