12/22 Prof. Michel Blanc: Exploring the Jupiter System from Major Science Questions to Future Space Missions| On Things to Come
22 December 2021
4 pm GMT+8
The Jupiter system is the most massive secondary system in the Solar System. Its formation had a profound influence on the architecture of the solar system and on the delivery or water to the inner planets. Its satellite system offers a broad diversity of objects whose inventory and characterization are still incomplete. In particular, the formation scenarios, geology, geochemistry, geophysics and potential habitability of the four Galilean satellites continue to challenge our understanding despite the major contributions of Voyager and Galileo observations. These “big questions” have motivated a new wave of space missions to the Jupiter system and its surroundings, one of which is operational (Juno), while others are en route (Lucy) or in development (JUICE, Europa Clipper). Juno arrival at Jupiter in 2016, 13 years after the end of the Galileo mission, provided a whole new perspective on Jupiter itself. And, with its extended mission, Juno will offer the first close look at Jupiter and its moons since Galileo.
In this talk, we will briefly introduce the Jupiter system and review the major open questions concerning this system: its origin and formation scenario, its internal coupling processes, their relation to the unique architecture of the system, the habitability of its ocean moons and their astrobiological potential. We will present some of the key contributions of Juno to its renewed understanding, and discuss the contributions expected from Lucy, JUICE and Europa Clipper.
On this basis we will present the case for new ambitious missions to the Jupiter system and its moons after them.
About Prof. Michel Blanc
