[Let me add just one point]
"JT" == Jonathan Thornburg writes:
JT Pablo Rena wrote:
Io is much more interesting than the cold and frozen Mars, so we
should fly there?
[...]
JT The underlying technical problem is that to do this "next
JT generation" science probably requires entering an orbit around the
JT Jupiter moon. But all the interesting Jupiter moons are deep in
JT Jupiter's gravity well, so (...) it takes a *lot* of delta-V to
JT enter an orbit get to them == a lot of rocket fuel == a massive
JT spacecraft == an expensive launch.
Moreover, Io is deep within Jupiter's magnetosphere. That means that
any probe would be exposed to a high level of particle bombardment,
which makes it difficult to keep the electronics functional.
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