Perhaps the most interesting thing about Io is the incredible amount of active volcanoes that the moon has. Io has the most active volcanoes out of any world in the Solar System (Shekhtman & Thompson, 2020). Due to the gravitational pull of Jupiter as well as pulls from Europa and Ganymede, the inside of Io is extremely hot (Talbert, 2021). This leads to the hundreds of volcanoes that erupt at any given moment on the moon (Talbert, 2021).
Alfred McEwen, a planetary geologist and professor at the University of Arizona, said while speaking with Talbert:
But Io, with its spectacular volcanoes and extreme tidal activity, could address those questions. Learning exactly how this furnace functions within Io…will in turn help us understand how worlds evolve. (2021)
Io’s extremely volcanic surface could help us to understand our universe in ways we never have before.
McEwen also explains to Talbert how scientists still do not fully understand how the tidal forces cause the interior of Io to become so hot (2021). He explains that learning more about this process could also help inform us on the effects that this process could have across the cosmos (Talbert, 2021).
“It really is the best place in the solar system to understand tidal heating.”
McEwen to Talbert (2021)
Shekhtman, L., & Thompson, J. (2020, November 10). Io. NASA. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/jupiter-moons/io/overview/
Talbert, T. (2021, March 16). IO Volcano Observer: Following the clues to planet evolution. NASA. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/planetarymissions/io-volcano-observer