World of Fire (and Ice): Exploring Jupiter’s moon Io
The astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered Io and the other planet-sized moons of Jupiter in January of 1610, setting off the modern age of planetary exploration. Io is one of the most unique and remarkable worlds of our Solar System, and is a natural laboratory to study tidal heating of planetary interiors. In my talk we will discuss insights learned from telescopic and spacecraft exploration, especially the NASA Voyager and Galileo missions (the latter of which I was a part). The Galileo mission results raised many new questions, including the possibility that ultramafic volcanism (like ancient terrestrial komatiites) could be occurring on Io today, justifying a return by a Io-focused mission. One is currently included in the current Discovery mission proposals, the Io Volcano Observer (IVO, PI: Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona). I will also discuss some facts about IVO and other plans for future Io missions.