NASA's Juno spacecraft has snuck a peek at one of Jupiter's largest inner moons.
What is it?
NASA's Juno mission made a close pass of Jupiter's moon Thebe on May 1, 2026. While about 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) away from the moon, the spacecraft snapped this photo using its camera known as the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU).
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Jupiter has over 100 moons discovered so far and Thebe is the second largest of the planet's inner moons. Those inner moons are all smaller than the gas giant's famously huge Galilean moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — which orbit farther out. The moon was first discovered in 1980 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft as it flew by Jupiter.
Juno launched in 2011 to travel to, orbit around, and study Jupiter. The mission has delivered incredible images and groundbreaking data on the planet and its surrounding moons. The mission has spotted cyclones on Jupiter and watched volcanoes erupt on its moon Io.
Why is it incredible?
It is amazing to see such a far-off moon up close. But Juno's SRU was actually not designed to take cool photos of Jupiter's moons.
The SRU is primarily intended to image star fields so Juno can navigate our solar system. Juno launched to Jupiter in 2011, but after completing its primary mission in 2021, the spacecraft has continued on as part of an extended mission. Ever since, it has been exploring Jupiter and its orbiting moons with greater depth.
Similarly, the SRU is stretching its functionality. To be able to image star fields well, the instrument is designed to work in low light. As a result? We get to have awesome images like this.
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Chelsea GohdContent ManagerChelsea Gohd served as a Senior Writer for Space.com from 2018 to 2022 before returning in 2026, covering everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a M.S. in Biology, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including NASA JPL, the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her online @chelsea.gohd and @foxanne.music
