Voyager photograph of Io.
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Courtesy of NASA
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What is ozone?
Chlorine Found in Io Atmosphere Leads to Salt?
News story originally written on June 4, 1999
Scientists found a large amount of chlorine in Io's atmosphere! Io is one of Jupiter's moons. It has more chlorine than Earth. Chlorine is part of salt, so there may be salt on Io!
Salt is a very important mineral. Scientists think the salt may come rivers underground. It may also be made in Io's atmosphere. More research will be done to find out where the chlorine comes from.
Chlorine is important because it breaks up ozone in our atmosphere. By studying Io's atmosphere, we can learn more about our own. If we ever went to Io, we'd have plenty of salt to put on our fries!
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