Original title: The Ultraviolet Spectrograph on ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission (JUICE-UVS)
Kurt D. Retherford, Philippa M. Molyneux, Thomas K. Greathouse, Michael W. Davis +50 · September 2026
Scientists want to know if the icy moons around Jupiter could support life, and how giant gas planets work. To help answer this, a team built a tool called JUICE-UVS for a mission to Jupiter. JUICE-UVS is a special sensor called an ultraviolet spectrographAn instrument that measures ultraviolet light to study the composition of celestial objects.. It works by collecting and splitting invisible ultraviolet light to read the chemical clues hidden in that light. The instrument scans targets using a long slit to study the icy moons' surfaces, atmospheres, and erupting plumes. It also investigates Jupiter itself, glowing auroras, rings, small moons, and a ring of charged particles called the Io Plasma TorusA ring of charged particles around Jupiter caused by volcanic activity on the moon Io.. Researchers use these light measurements to examine the environments of these distant ocean worlds.
You're in a dimly lit room trying to identify different fabrics by holding them up to a blacklight lamp. Under normal light, many fabrics look the same, but the blacklight makes certain materials glow distinctly. In this paper, scientists use an ultraviolet spectrograph to do something similar with Jupiter's moons—by analyzing how they reflect ultraviolet light, they can distinguish surface and atmospheric details that help assess their potential for habitability.
Scientists want to know if moons like Europa could support life. This instrument will provide data to answer that by studying light from these distant worlds.
The abstract only describes the instrument and its planned observations; it does not present any data or confirm scientific findings.
Ask anything about this paper. Answers come from its abstract, and say so when the abstract doesn't cover your question.
The Ultraviolet Spectrograph on ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission (JUICE-UVS) — Kurt D. Retherford, Philippa M. Molyneux, Thomas K. Greathouse et al.
Abstract licence: CC0
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.