NASA's Juno mission develops first complete 3D radiation map of Jupiter system

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Scientists with NASA's Juno mission have developed the first complete 3D radiation map of the Jupiter system, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Along with characterizing the intensity of the high-energy particles near the orbit of the icy moon Europa, the map shows how the radiation environment is sculpted by the smaller moons orbiting near Jupiter's rings, said JPL in a report earlier this week.

The work relies on data collected by Juno's Advanced Stellar Compass (ASC), which was designed and built by the Technical University of Denmark, and the spacecraft's Stellar Reference Unit, which was built by Leonardo SpA in Florence, Italy.

The two datasets helped Juno scientists characterize the radiation environment at different energies, according to JPL.

Consisting of four star cameras on the spacecraft's magnetometer boom, Juno's ASC takes images of stars to determine the spacecraft's orientation in space.

ASC data suggested that there is more very high-energy radiation relative to lower-energy radiation near Europa's orbit than previously thought, according to JPL.

The data also confirmed that there are more high-energy electrons on the side of Europa facing its orbital direction of motion than on the moon's trailing side, said JPL.