NASA’s Juno spacecraft detected salts and organic compounds on the surface of Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, during a close flyby in June 2021. The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) spectrometer on the spacecraft collected the data. 

The salts detected include: 

• Hydrated sodium chloride 
• Ammonium chloride 
• Sodium bicarbonate 

The organic compounds detected may include: Aliphatic aldehydes, Aldehydes. 

The presence of these compounds may indicate that Ganymede had a briny past. For example, the ammoniated salts suggest that Ganymede may have accumulated materials cold enough to condense ammonia during its formation. The carbonate salts could be remnants of carbon dioxide-rich ices. 

Juno’s main goal is to learn more about Jupiter’s origins and how the planet has changed. By studying Jupiter, we can better understand the formation of our entire Solar System

After a flyby of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, in 2021, Juno and a team of scientists have discovered the presence of mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of the icy moon

Yes, there is liquid on Ganymede: 

• Underground saltwater ocean: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found evidence for an underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede. The ocean may contain more water than all the water on Earth’s surface. 
• Liquid core: Ganymede has an iron-rich, liquid core. 
• Water vapor: Previous studies have shown that Ganymede may have water vapor. 

Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system, bigger than the planet Mercury and dwarf planet Pluto. It’s composed of silicate rock and water in approximately equal proportions. Ganymede is extremely cold (minus 100 to 180 degrees Celsius), so the water on the surface may be frozen. The liquid ocean may lie about 160 kilometers below the surface.

Ganymede’s surface is made up of two types of terrain: 

• Dark regions About 40% of the surface is dark with many craters. Some of the craters have rays of ejecta material. 
• Lighter regions The remaining 60% is lighter in color with grooves that form intricate patterns. The grooves and ridges are extensive. 

Ganymede’s surface composition is dominated by H2O-ice, which is predominantly crystalline. It also contains sulfuric acid hydrate and salts, likely sulfates and chlorinated. 

Ganymede’s surface has an albedo of about 43%, which suggests that water ice makes up a mass fraction of 50-90% of the surface.

The dark areas on Ganymede are older, more heavily cratered regions. The dark regions are saturated with impact craters and dated to four billion years ago. The brownish-gray color is due to mixtures of rocky materials and ice. 

The dark areas may be related to volcanic resurfacing or to erosional degradation. The floors of some craters appear to be partially filled with possible volcanic deposits. 

The large craters on Ganymede are mostly flat, probably due to settling in the soft icy surface. Both bright and dark rays of ejecta can be seen around Ganymede’s craters. 

The dark region at the top of the first image is called Galileo Regio. It is seen to be one of the older parts, original icy highlands.

Ganymede’s craters were formed by collisions with debris and meteors from space. The craters are shallower and less defined than those on the Moon. 

The dark, cratered terrain is believed to be the original crust of the satellite. The number of calderas seen in the Juno images suggests a much more intense volcanic activity on the moon than scientists expected previously. 

The crater chains appear to be the impact scars of tidally disrupted comets that struck Ganymede. Similar crater chains are found on Callisto.

Ganymede’s surface has several features that may explain how it looks the way it does: 

• Craters Ganymede’s craters are flatter and less defined than those on the Moon. This may be due to the icy surface flowing over time. 
• Grooves The grooves on Ganymede are as high as 2,000 ft (610 meters) and stretch for thousands of miles. They may have been formed by tectonic activity or water being released from beneath the surface. 
• Bulges Ganymede has a bulge that appears to be made of thick ice. The size and location of the bulge suggest that once upon a time, the moon’s icy shell rotated atop the rest of the moon. 
• Polar caps Ganymede has polar caps, likely composed of water frost. 
• Flooding Scientists have found that Ganymede’s surface shows signs of flooding. Young parts of Ganymede may have been formed by water bubbling up from the interior of the moon through faults or cryo-volcanos.

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