Modeling Callisto's Tenuous Atmosphere Using the DSMC Method

The most geologically primitive of the Icy Galilean satellites, Callisto, has the least understood surface and atmosphere. Despite Galileo and Hubble Space Telescope observations of Callisto’s atmosphere, its origin and evolution are still not well understood. This presentation discusses my models of Callisto’s atmosphere which address key issues of previous models and incorporate the necessary physics observed or inferred to occur as a means to improve the current state-of-the-art as well as provide benchmarks for future observations. The findings are exciting as they have broad implications for the other Icy Galilean satellites, lead to suggestions for possible spacecraft confirmation, and have opened the door for several new studies and collaborations going forward.