Kallichore (moon)

Kallichore (/kəˈlɪkɒriː/), also known as Jupiter XLIV and previously as S/2003 J 11, is a small natural satellite or moon of Jupiter. It is one of Jupiter's many irregular moons, which orbit far from the planet on highly inclined and eccentric orbits. Kallichore was discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 6 February 2003 and was named after Callichore, one of Zeus's daughters in Greek mythology.

Kallichore is an elongated object with a diameter of about 4 km (2.5 mi). It orbits Jupiter in the retrograde direction—opposite to the direction of the planet's rotation—at an average distance of 23.0 million km (14.3 million mi). Kallichore shares similar orbital properties as Jupiter's larger irregular moon Carme, which makes it a member of the Carme group. The moons of the Carme group are believed to be fragments of an asteroid or trans-Neptunian object that was gravitationally captured by Jupiter and destroyed by a collision several billion years ago.

Kallichore is a potential flyby target for the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission, which is predicted to pass closer than 1 million km (0.62 million mi) from the moon on 7 October 2031. Although it is possible for Juice to come even closer to Kallichore, this possibility remains under investigation as of 2026. Further observations of Kallichore are planned to accurately determine its orbital path before Juice can be directed closer to the moon.