Juno’s next perijove, its 56th, will take place on November 22, according to the mission’s website.
Scott Bolton, the Juno mission’s principal investigator, told Mashable earlier this year: “We’re marching closer and closer.”
NASA added in a statement: “Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are Io’s Galilean siblings — Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede.
“The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes.
“Europa may be the most promising place in our solar system to find present-day environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth.
“NASA’s Europa Clipper will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter’s moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could harbour conditions suitable for life.”
