MAJIS

MAJIS, the Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer, is an imaging spectrometer developed for the European Space Agency's JUICE mission to explore Jupiter and its icy moons. The instrument is designed to acquire spatially resolved spectra of planetary surfaces in the visible and near-infrared, enabling the identification of water ice, other ices, minerals, and possible organic compounds, and thus to map surface composition and geological processes.

Technical overview: MAJIS collects data across a broad wavelength range from the visible into the near-infrared and produces three-dimensional data cubes—two spatial dimensions plus a spectral dimension. The instrument provides moderate spatial resolution over its field of view, allowing coverage of sizable areas on targets such as the Galilean moons. It works in concert with other JUICE instruments to correlate composition with morphology, geology, and potential temporal changes.

Development and status: MAJIS is built by a European consortium of research institutes and universities and is integrated into the JUICE payload. It is designed to operate in the radiation environment of the Jovian system and to deliver science data to the JUICE data system for processing and archival by the international scientific community.

Impact: By mapping surface composition and detecting ices and organics, MAJIS contributes to understanding the formation and evolution of Jupiter's icy moons, the potential existence of subsurface oceans, and the processes shaping their surfaces.