Swarm of Tiny Probes Could Unlock the Secrets of Jupiter's Thick Atmosphere

A swarm of tiny probes may have a mission--and that mission is the giant planet of Jupiter. Microprobes, which each have a different sensor, could be fired into the clouds of Jupiter and grab data as they fall before burning up in the gas giant planet's atmosphere.

Orbiting and flyby probes have collected data about the "surface" of the outer planets and the moons that orbit these planets. Yet it's difficult to probe deep within planet atmospheres with these probes. That's why scientists have now turned to much smaller probes.

"Our concept shows that for a small enough probe, you can strip off the parachute and still get enough time in the atmosphere to take meaningful data while keeping the relay close and the data rate high," said John Moores, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In this case, tiny satellites that weigh less than one kilogram could be the answer. It's possible that the presence of the ESA JUICE orbiter, set to begin its mission to Jupiter in 2030, could include a tandem mission including micro satellites. These tiny satellites could collect data about Jupiter's atmosphere and offer a way to understand flow dynamics, cloud microphysics, and radiative transfer.

The findings reveal how these small satellites could be used in future missions to help better understand planets in our solar system and beyond. This could be huge for collecting data about foreign planets and, in turn, better understand how they differ from our own planet Earth.

The findings are published in the International Journal Space Science and Engineering.

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