Jupiter's Main Moons

The largest moon in the solar system, bigger than Mercury.

Only a moon with a magnetic field, likely due to a liquid iron core.

It has an icy surface with diverse geological features and a subsurface ocean.

Thin oxygen atmosphere, is not suitable for human life.

Icy surface with cracks and ridges, suggesting a young and reshaping terrain.

• Thin oxygen atmosphere, insufficient for human life or weather phenomena.

• Vast, salty ocean beneath the ice, possibly containing more water than Earth's oceans.

• Considered a prime candidate for life due to liquid water and potential nutrients.

• NASA's Galileo spacecraft confirmed the subsurface ocean and detailed Europa's surface features.

  Io holds the title for the most volcanically active object in the solar system, with numerous volcanoes reaching plumes hundreds of kilometers high.

This activity is due to intense tidal forces from Jupiter and nearby moons.

Gravitational forces from Jupiter and interactions with Europa and Ganymede cause tidal heating in Io, creating internal heat that fuels constant volcanic reshaping.

Io's surface features massive lava lakes and mountains, some taller than Mount Everest, composed of sulfur and silicate materials.