Jupiter (Representative Image - Canva)JUICE mission or Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission was successfully launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 14, 2023, at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT).
The Galileo probe and Juno are the only two spacecraft that are currently in orbit around Jupiter.
During the flight of this mission spacecraft, Earth will have an impact on the trajectory of Jupiter that will break and redirect the spacecraft through the course of Venus in August 2025.
Following this, the spacecraft will examine Ganymede, situated between Europa and Callisto, at a distance of 665,000 miles (1.07 million km) from Jupiter.
JUICE will be equipped with 10 scientific instruments designed to study Jupiter's moons and assess their potential for supporting life.
Jupiter (Representative Image - Canva)
JUICE mission or Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission was successfully launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 14, 2023, at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT).
The launch of the spacecraft took place from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. the mission is aimed to study the giant planet and examine the habitability of its three moons.
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The journey to Jupiter will take around eight years, and the trip to Ganymede, the biggest moon of the gas giant, will take an extra four years. The Galileo probe and Juno are the only two spacecraft that are currently in orbit around Jupiter.
During the flight of this mission spacecraft, Earth will have an impact on the trajectory of Jupiter that will break and redirect the spacecraft through the course of Venus in August 2025.
When this process begins, the spacecraft JUICE will gain energy through a series of gravity assists, first from Venus and then twice from Earth. This is akin to the spacecraft receiving three consecutive energy boosts, similar to the effect of drinking three back-to-back espressos in rapid succession. These gravity assists will significantly increase the spacecraft's velocity, propelling it towards its destination with greater speed and efficiency.
Jupiter's location is around 800 million km away from Earth and to send this spacecraft to the giant planet it will be required an impossible 60 000 kg of onboard propellant.
Juice would need to carry a massive quantity of propellant to slow itself down which will assist it in entering the orbit around Jupiter. So overall the spacecraft will need the gravity of other planets also to carefully adjust its trajectory through during its time in interstellar space.
The scientists planned this mission for around 20 years before it was successfully launched. Juice's path has already been predicted and planned by mission operators to guarantee that it arrives on the Moon first, then on Earth a day later, at precisely the appropriate timing, speed, and direction.
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JUICE will conduct 21 flybys to study the moons and Callisto, getting as close as 120 miles (200 km) to its surface while maintaining an orbit around 1.2 million miles (1.9 million km) from Jupiter. It is believed that Callisto might have water plumes erupting from its icy crust, and it is also the second largest of Jupiter's moons, comparable in size to Mercury.
Following this, the spacecraft will examine Ganymede, situated between Europa and Callisto, at a distance of 665,000 miles (1.07 million km) from Jupiter.
JUICE will be equipped with 10 scientific instruments designed to study Jupiter's moons and assess their potential for supporting life. As the largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede has a magnetic field, which the spacecraft will investigate. JUICE will also explore Ganymede's subsurface ocean, complex core, ice composition, interactions with Jupiter, and more.
Despite past visits (such as Galileo and Juno), many questions concerning Jupiter and its moons persist. JUICE and Europa Clipper will provide useful information, potentially paving the path for future missions to investigate these fascinating worlds.
