NASA Names U Of A Jupiter Io Mission Proposal A Finalist

TUCSON, AZ — NASA announced Thursday that the Jupiter Io mission proposal by the University of Arizona is among four finalists that could be chosen for a future Discovery mission. But this is only the first step.

The university’s proposed Io Volcano Observer (IVO) mission would conduct 10 close-range flybys of Jupiter’s Io moon, known as the solar system’s most volcanically active world. The IVO mission would help reveal whether Io’s pockmarked surface is hiding a magma ocean underneath.

“IVO will revolutionize our understanding of a truly spectacular, volcanically active world, with volcanic eruption scales seen on Earth only during mass extinctions,” said Alfred McEwen, U of A planetary sciences regents professor and IVO principal investigator.

The proposed IVO mission involves mapping Io’s surface, monitoring volcanic activity, measuring heat flow and measuring surface lava and erupting gas compositions. It would also measure gravitational and magnetic fields close to Io that would give clues about Io’s magma distribution and internal structure.

McEwen says learning more about Io’s magma oceans, whether an entire liquid magma ocean or a solidified one, can provide insight into ancient tectonic and volcanic processes on Earth, other planets and exoplanets similar to Io.

“Magma oceans were common among the terrestrial planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and the moon – soon after the planets formed and are an integral piece of planet formation and evolution,” McEwen said.

If selected for a NASA Discovery mission, this wouldn’t be the U of A’s first time, said Robert C. Robbins, U of A president. The university was previously selected for the Phoenix Mars Lander and OSIRIS-REx missions.

But being selected as one of four finalists in the Discovery competition is really just the first step. Next, the creators behind each of the final four proposals will embark on a $3 million, nine-month study to develop the concepts related to their proposals. Each of the four teams’ studies will end with a Concept Study Report submitted to NASA.

According to a NASA news release, after the reports are reviewed, in 2021 NASA will select one or two of the four mission proposals and turn them into Discovery flights.

Two of the other finalists' proposed missions involve studying Venus, while the third focuses on exploring Neptune’s Triton moon.