JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey to Jupiter | European Space Agency

JUICE Spacecraft’s Journey to Jupiter | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft is embarking on an eight-year cruise to Jupiter after its successful launch on April 14, 2023. This mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant planets now known to orbit other stars.

On its journey, JUICE will make a series of flybys of Earth, the Earth-Moon system and Venus to set it on course for its July 2031 rendezvous in the Jovian system.

JUICE will make three Earth flybys during its cruise: one of the Earth-Moon system in August 2024, one of Earth in September 2026, and once again one of Earth in January 2029.

In total, JUICE will spend approximately eight years cruising to Jupiter. It will reach Jupiter in July 2031, but will already begin making scientific observations six months before entering orbit around Jupiter. JUICE will go on to spend many months orbiting Jupiter, making 35 flybys of icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and finally conducting an orbital tour of Ganymede.

JUICE will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons—Ganymede, Callisto and Europa—with a suite of instruments. The mission will characterize these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Release Date: December 21, 2022

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