NASA’s Juno spacecraft made its closest flyby of Jupiter’s moon Europa in more than 20 years.
On Thursday, Juno passed within 357 kilometers (222 miles) of the icy moon, which is thought to have an ocean under a thick layer of ice, raising the possibility of underwater life.
Scientists hope to get lucky and see plumes of water gushing from the surface of Europa, which is about the size of Earth’s moon.
“We have to be in the right place at the right time, but if we’re lucky, it’s a home run for sure,” Juno mission lead scientist Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said in a statement.
John Bodi, deputy chief of mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, expected the probe to pass “very quickly,” at a relative speed of nearly 15 miles per second (23.6 kilometers per second).
NASA said images taken by Juno will be available on Friday.
The new observations should help the agency plan for its Europa Clipper mission, to be launched in 2024. The European Space Agency is also planning close encounters with its Juice probe, due to launch next year.
NASA’s previous Galileo probe still holds the record for the closest approach to the moon Europa, with a flyby of 351 kilometers (218 miles) in 2000.
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