On January 22nd, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched one of its most ambitious mission to date, JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer). Launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, JUICE is a robotic spacecraft that will embark on a seven-year mission to visit Jupiter’s icy moons, and to look for potential conditions for life.
The mission is set to provide an in-depth study of the moons Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, using its suite of instruments to study their geography, composition, atmosphere and environment. Each of these moons is thought to contain subsurface oceans, and the mission aims to search for evidence of active biology in the pools of liquid beneath their surfaces.
JUICE will also make multiple flybys of another of Jupiter’s moons, Io, to study its volcanism and complex atmosphere. On its journey, the spacecraft will not only explore the giant planet and its moons, but also conduct the first ever gravity assist manoeuvre around a planet other than Earth, allowing it to appreciate the gravitational fields of both Jupiter and its moons in unprecedented detail.
Its instruments will also enable JUICE to observe Jupiter’s magnetosphere and take in-depth measurements of the planet’s atmosphere and auroral activity. With these instruments, the spacecraft will be able to examine up-close the mysterious conditions in the planet’s bands, its jet streams and cyclones, and its aurora.
At the end of a seven-year voyage, after multiple flybys and gravitational assists, JUICE will eventually be captured in orbit around Ganymede. From there, it will continue to study the icy moon, mapping its surface and animal life during its two-year mission.
The successful launch of JUICE on its historic mission marks a significant moment for both the ESA and the world of space exploration. Its mission aims to unlock some of Jupiter’s greatest mysteries, and extend our understanding of complex conditions for life beyond Earth.
