Context. We present the first spectroscopic observations of Ganymede by the James Webb Space Telescope undertaken in August 2022 as part of the proposal "ERS observations of the Jovian system as a demonstration of JWST's capabilities for Solar System science". Aims. We aimed to investigate the composition and thermal properties of the surface, and to study the relationships of ice and non-water-ice materials and their distribution. Methods. NIRSpec IFU (2.9-5.3 μm) and MIRI MRS (4.9-28.5 μm) observations were performed on both the leading and trailing hemispheres of Ganymede, with a spectral resolution of ∼2700 and a spatial sampling of 0.1 to 0.17″ (while the Ganymede size was ∼1.68″). We characterized the spectral signatures and their spatial distribution on the surface. The distribution of brightness temperatures was analyzed with standard thermophysical modeling including surface roughness. Results. Reflectance spectra show signatures of water ice, CO2, and H2O2. An absorption feature at 5.9 μm, with a shoulder at 6.5 μm, is revealed, and is tentatively assigned to sulfuric acid hydrates. The CO2 4.26-μm band shows latitudinal and longitudinal variations in depth, shape, and position over the two hemispheres, unveiling different CO2 physical states. In the ice-rich polar regions, which are the most exposed to Jupiter's plasma irradiation, the CO2 band is redshifted with respect to other terrains. In the boreal region of the leading hemisphere, the CO2 band is dominated by a high wavelength component at ∼4.27 μm, consistent with CO2 trapped in amorphous water ice. At equatorial latitudes (and especially on dark terrains), the observed band is broader and shifted toward the blue, suggesting CO2 adsorbed on non-icy materials, such as minerals or salts. Maps of the H2O Fresnel peak area correlate with Bond albedo maps and follow the distribution of water ice inferred from H2O absorption bands. Amorphous ice is detected in the ice-rich polar regions, and is especially abundant on the northern polar cap of the leading hemisphere. Leading and trailing polar regions exhibit different H2O, CO2, and H2O2 spectral properties. However, in both hemispheres the north polar cap ice appears to be more processed than the south polar cap. A longitudinal modification of the H2O ice molecular structure and/or nanometer- and micrometer-scale texture, of diurnal or geographic origin, is observed in both hemispheres. Ice frost is tentatively observed on the morning limb of the trailing hemisphere, which possibly formed during the night from the recondensation of water subliming from the warmer subsurface. Reflectance spectra of the dark terrains are compatible with the presence of Na- and Mg-sulfate salts, sulfuric acid hydrates, and possibly phyllosilicates mixed with fine-grained opaque minerals, with a highly porous texture. Latitude and local time variations of the brightness temperatures indicate a rough surface with mean slope angles of 15° - 25° and a low thermal inertia Γ = 20-40 J m-2 s-0.5 K-1, consistent with a porous surface, with no obvious difference between the leading and trailing sides.@en

We observed Io with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) while the satellite was in eclipse, and detected thermal emission from several volcanoes. The data were taken as part of our JWST-ERS program #1373 on 15 November 2022. Kanehekili Fluctus was exceptionally bright, and Loki Patera had most likely entered a new brightening phase. Spectra were taken with NIRSpec/IFU at a resolving power R ≈ 2,700 between 1.65 and 5.3 µm. The spectra were matched by a combination of blackbody curves that showed that the highest temperature, ∼1,200 K, for Kanehekili Fluctus originated from an area ∼0.25 km2 in size, and for Loki Patera this high temperature was confined to an area of ∼0.06 km2. Lower temperatures, down to 300 K, cover areas of ∼2,000 km2 for Kanehekili Fluctus, and ∼5,000 km2 for Loki Patera. We further detected the a1Δ ⇒ X3Σ− 1.707 µm rovibronic forbidden SO emission band complex over the southern hemisphere, which peaked at the location of Kanehekili Fluctus. This is the first time this emission has been seen above an active volcano, and suggests that the origin of such emissions is ejection of SO molecules directly from the vent in an excited state, after having been equilibrated at temperatures of ∼1,500 K below the surface, as was previously hypothesized.@en

Ganymede is the only satellite in the solar system known to have an intrinsic magnetic field. Interactions between this field and the Jovian magnetosphere are expected to funnel most of the associated impinging charged particles, which radiolytically alter surface chemistry across the Jupiter system, to Ganymede's polar regions. Using observations obtained with JWST as part of the Early Release Science program exploring the Jupiter system, we report the discovery of hydrogen peroxide, a radiolysis product of water ice, specifically constrained to the high latitudes. This detection directly implies radiolytic modification of the polar caps by precipitation of Jovian charged particles along partially open field lines within Ganymede's magnetosphere. Stark contrasts between the spatial distribution of this polar hydrogen peroxide, those of Ganymede's other radiolytic oxidants, and that of hydrogen peroxide on neighboring Europa have important implications for understanding water-ice radiolysis throughout the solar system.@en