The Juno probe captured the first image of Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa as it passed past, and NASA has now made it public.

As per news reports, the photo was taken on Thursday at around 352 kilometres away, during the solar-powered spacecraft's closest approach.

The closest glimpse any spacecraft has given at Europa since Jan. 3, 2000, when NASA's Galileo flew within 351 kilometres of the surface, is offered by this close approach, which is only the third in history below 500 kilometres in altitude.

The sixth-largest moon in the solar system, Europa, is a little smaller than the moon of Earth. Scientists speculate that a miles-thick ice shell covers a salty ocean, raising concerns about the possibility of life-supporting environments beneath Europa's surface.