ESA’s final details for the launch of the Juice probe: these are its targets in space

Juice probe, a mission that explores the environment Jupiter and three of its three great icy moons are ready to embark on a journey on the 13th, during which they will have to seek the gravitational assistance of the Earth, Moon, and Venus until they reach their destination in eight years.

juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) European Space Agency (WHAT) will conduct detailed observations of the gas giant planet and its three large icy moons: Callisto, Europe and above all from Ganymedewhich is the main purpose of the mission.

going to take off

A few days after launch, the probe is already attached to the rocket. Arianna 5 “Ready to launch,” said Alessandro Atzei, the company’s payload engineer, at a virtual press conference. WHAT.

The mission will be launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana on a rocket. Aryan 5last before WHAT replace it with Ariane 6 from Arianespace.

The expert explained that in the event that a take-off had to be suspended due to weather or any other reason, it could be repeated every day until the end of the month, although always at the exact time, as “a perfect match between target and launch”.

Atzei noted that juice It is “a fairly large probe with many unique features” such as a large antenna, “huge solar arrays”, 85 square meters once deployed, and many deployable weapons.

For this reason, when it separates from the rocket 27 minutes and 45 seconds after launch, “there will be a lot of work to make sure everything unfolds correctly so that we can start our mission,” he explained.

mission objectives

Target juice is to study the icy moons Jupiter as planetary objects and as possible habitats, you explore complex environments in detail Jupiter and will study the system as a whole as an archetype of the gas giants of the entire universe.

But the journey will be long, as his arrival in Jupiter It is scheduled for July 2031, when the science mission will begin, and the path will not be direct, but will have to make a “complex sequence of gravity maneuvers” to propel itself and save fuel, he said.

The first in August next year, when it will approach the Earth and the Moon; in 2025 it will need the gravitational assistance of Venus, and between 2026 and 2029 it will need twice as much from Earth.

Gravity assist maneuvers “need to be accurate” and emphasize the abilities of flight control teams who are “used” to them.

Atzei believed that the biggest problem would arise in eight years, when juice I arrived at Jupiter and must be caught in its orbit.

One of the main objectives of the mission will be Ganymede. Over there, juice it will be the first spacecraft to orbit a satellite other than ours, and after studying it, will complete its mission when it runs out of fuel and crashes into it in a controlled manner.

juice It will have to deal with “very harsh” environments, with extreme temperatures, very high radiation, strong magnetic fields and low light, which is why it took a lot of effort to create, according to Justin Byrne, chief scientist for defense and security. space division from Airbus.

The mission is not looking for life, but to understand the possible habitability of large icy moons that may hide oceans beneath their surface.

Olivier Vitasse, project scientist juiceindicated that “interesting aspects related to life and habitability” would be studied, including water vapor in the atmosphere of the moons.

In addition, he emphasized the importance of “learning the system Jupiter on a global scale,” its atmosphere, its strong magnetic fields, its oceanic moons, “are all connected to each other.”

Jupiter it is a “miniature solar system” and is the key to a better understanding of how our solar system works, how it formed and evolved over time, and other extrasolar systems. (EFE)

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