During its final close approach to Jupiter’s moon Io, NASA’s Juno orbiter captured unprecedented images of volcanic plumes erupting from the moon’s surface. Io, known as the most volcanically active world in our solar system, features numerous volcanoes spewing material miles high into space.

Juno’s February flyby at a distance of 2,400 miles provided detailed snapshots of these eruptions, revealing new insights into Io’s volcanic processes.

Scientists, led by Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute, are analyzing the data to understand more about Io’s dynamic geology.

Juno, which has orbited Jupiter for over seven years, initially studied the gas giant’s atmosphere and interior, extending its mission to investigate Jupiter’s moons and dust rings, Mashable has reported.

The spacecraft’s extended mission will continue for another year before its planned descent into Jupiter’s atmosphere to avoid contaminating potentially habitable moons.

Written by B.C. Begley