The European Space Agency sent a spacecraft to explore Jupiter and three of its biggest and most intriguing moons.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, mission launched on Friday aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The spacecraft separated from the Ariane 5 rocket after 28 minutes of launch. Over the next 17 days, Juice will deploy its solar panels, antennas and other instruments, followed by three months of instrument testing and preparation.
It will take Juice eight years to reach Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. During its long cruise, the spacecraft will utilize some gravitational slingshots as it flies past Earth, our moon and Venus to aid in the journey.
Once Juice arrives at Jupiter in July 2031, the spacecraft will spend about three and a half years orbiting the gas giant and conducting flybys of three of its moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. At the end of the mission, Juice will focus exclusively on orbiting Ganymede, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a moon in the outer solar system.
Ganymede, Callisto and Europa are ice-covered worlds that may contain underground oceans that are potentially habitable for life.
Meanwhile, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, launched in 2024, is expected to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030 and perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa, coming in just 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the moon’s surface.
Together, the two missions could unlock some of the biggest mysteries about Jupiter and its moons.
mission postponement
The Juice mission was initially scheduled for Thursday (13), but the launch was postponed to this Friday (14), at 9:14 am, Brasília time.
“Today’s flight #VA260 has been postponed due to weather conditions (risk of lightning) at the scheduled takeoff time from the European spaceport in French Guiana,” the ESA said via its Twitter profile. Also according to the post, the vehicle and its equipment are “in stable and safe condition”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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