Ganymede
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Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and orbits the gas giant Jupiter.
It was discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610, along with the other three Galilean moons: Io, Europa and Callisto.
What makes Ganymede so special is that it is the only known moon to have a magnetic field of its own, suggesting that its interior must have a layer of liquid metal, which is what generates the magnetic field.
In addition, its rocky core is thought to be surrounded by a saltwater ocean, and above it is a layer of ice.
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Ganymede is one of the most interesting places to search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system.
It is thought that beneath its icy surface there could be a habitable environment, with the presence of liquid water and a geothermal heat source.
This has led scientists to speculate about the possibility of microbial life on Ganymede.
In terms of its surface, Ganymede shows a mixture of older and younger terrain. Its older regions are covered with impact craters, some of which are more than 100 kilometres across, and it also has a series of grooves and ridges, called grooves, which are believed to be the result of tectonic activity.
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In addition, Ganymede has a very tenuous atmosphere composed mainly of oxygen. This atmosphere is generated by the interaction of surface ice with charged particles from Jupiter's magnetosphere.
The Galileo probe, launched by NASA in 1989, was the first to closely study Jupiter and its Galilean moons, including Ganymede.
Although Galileo did not get close enough to orbit Ganymede, it provided valuable images and scientific data about this moon and its environment.
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More recently, NASA's Juno probe, also from NASA, has been studying Jupiter and its system of moons since 2016. Although its primary focus is Jupiter, it has captured images of Ganymede from a distance, helping scientists better understand its geology and features.
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) mission in 2022, which aims to study Jupiter and its icy moons, including Ganymede, in detail. It is expected to reach Jupiter in 2029, giving us a better understanding of this mysterious moon.
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