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NASA's Juno Detects >40°F Subsurface Heat on Io

8/3/2026

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Story summary
  • NASA’s Juno spacecraft used its Microwave Radiometer to measure subsurface temperatures on Io.
  • During flybys on Dec 30 2023 and Feb 3 2024, temperatures rose more than 40 °F within a few feet of the surface.
  • Juno passed within 930 miles (1,494 km and 1,506 km) of Io, sampling depths from inches to tens of feet.
  • Shannon Brown reported a heat gradient with 1–3 watts m?² flow from conduction or buried lava covering ~10 % of the surface at 30–35 feet depth.