Jupiter’s moon Europa may be one of the most likely to sustain life in the solar system. And now, for more than 20 years, NASA scientists have captured the closest image to a natural satellite.

On Thursday, NASA’s Juno spacecraft reached within 219 miles of the moon, enabling its camera, JunoCam, to capture high-resolution images of Europa’s terrain. At the same time, Juno collected data on geological features and atmosphere, such as interior and ice shell structure. Collecting photos and data will help fill the gaps in understanding Europa’s surface and subsurface oceans. “JunoCam imagery fills the current geological map and replaces the existing low-resolution coverage of the region,” said Candy Hansen, lead developer and operator of JunoCam, in a news release.

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Scientists have long been interested in Europa, one of Jupiter’s 80 moons. Europa is a prime candidate for extraterrestrial life because of its large, potentially liquid ocean. The moon needs many elements to sustain life, not just liquid water, but its icy crust and ocean floor could foster essential elements like hydrogen. , will help scientists learn more about the moon and get one step closer to understanding whether simple life could survive on an icy moon.

Juno created a breathtaking image of Europa, but it did so by working under the very big constraints of having only two hours to collect the data. Still, the spacecraft flew at about 14 miles per second and achieved its objective.

These pictures of Europa aren’t Juno’s first major achievement, and NASA scientists hope it won’t be the last. The rover launched in his 2011 and was originally his five-year journey to study Jupiter. However, after traveling 1.7 billion miles and successfully orbiting the gas giant, scientists decided the spacecraft was not complete, and Juno embarked on a study of the entire Jupiter system. But even after the mission ends in his 2025, its repercussions aren’t over yet. Juno-Her mission will help inform the upcoming Europa-His Clipper mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2024 and arrive at Europa in 2030.