Since Jupiter is five times further from the Sun than Earth is, one would think that everything around it would be pretty cool.
But Io, the innermost moon, is rife with volcanic activity and its very hot. Scientists are thinking that IO, which is slightly larger than Earth’s moon may have a molten core.
“Researchers generally agree that Io gets most of its energy from a gravitational tug-of-war between its parent planet Jupiter and its sibling moon Europa. Those grand forces pull on Io’s rocky body, generating tremendous frictional heat in its interior. But how that heat is stored and moved around remains a mystery.”
To me this means that IO may actually be a good candidate for human exploration. Heat means energy, just like the geothermal heat that many homes use to heat their houses in America.
But on the other hand, with the volcanic activity, Io may suffer from constant earth- er, uh, Io-quakes which might make living there impossible.
Perhaps we should stick to our own moon, since we know absolutely positively that it is hollow.
I want to go.
