Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is a space probe made by the European Space Agency that will explore Jupiter's major moons, mostly just Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. It is powered by solar panels, like NASA's Juno spacecraft.[3]
 Artist's impression of the Juice spacecraft | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Names | Juice, JUICE | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | Planetary science | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | ESA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | Cruise phase: 8 years Science phase: 3.5 years Elapsed: 3 years, 1 month and 4 days | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Airbus Defence and Space | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 6,070 kg (13,380 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dry mass | 2,420 kg (5,340 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 16.8 x 27.1 x 13.7 meters[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power | 850 watts from a solar panel ~85 m2 (910 sq ft)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 14 April 2023 12:14:36 UTC [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Ariane 5 ECA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contractor | Arianespace | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Moon | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 19 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Earth | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 20 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Venus | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 31 August 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Earth | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 29 September 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Earth | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 18 January 2029 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jupiter orbiter | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | July 2031 (planned) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbital departure | December 2034 (planned) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ganymede orbiter | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | December 2034 (planned) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbit parameters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Periapsis | 500 km (310 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apoapsis | 500 km (310 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Juice mission insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The spacecraft launched on 14 April 2023. It will reach Jupiter's orbit in July 2031 after four gravity assists and eight years of travel.[4]
It will fly near the moons before going into orbit around Ganymede.[5]
Instruments onboard JUICE[6]
JANUS- An optical camera system
MAJIS- Moon and Jupiter imaging Spectrometer
GALA- Ganymede laser Altimeter
J-Mag- A magnetometer for JUICE
RPWI- Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation
UVS- UV imaging Spectrograph
SWI- Sub-millimeter Wave Instrument
RIME- Radar for Icy Moons Exploration
PEP- Particle Environment Package
3GM- Gravity & Geophysics of Jupiter and Galilean Moons
History
Juice builds on the previously proposed Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM-Laplace), a planned collaborative mission between ESA and NASA that would have carried out an in-depth study of the Jovian system and its icy moons. It is now foreseen that the Juice and NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft will be exploring the Jovian system simultaneously.[6]
Milestones JUICE will achieve
- It will be the first spacecraft to orbit a moon in the outer solar system(Ganymede)
- Juice’s flyby of the Earth-Moon system, known as a Lunar-Earth gravity assist (LEGA), is a world first: by performing this maneuver — a gravity assist flyby of the Moon followed just 1.5 days later by one of Earth—Juice will be able to save a significant amount of fuel.[6]
Spacecraft structure
Three-axis stabilized with 10 solar panels and a 2.5-metre-long High Gain Antenna, with a dry mass of approximately 2400 kg and a wet mass (including fuel) of approximately 6000 kg. Each solar panel measures about 2.5 m x 3.5 m; with five on each side of the spacecraft deployed as two distinctive cross-shaped arrays, these total an area of about 85 square meters.
Journey
Juice will spend approximately eight years cruising to Jupiter, during which it will complete fly-bys of Venus, Earth and the Earth-Moon system. It will reach Jupiter in July 2031; six months before entering orbit around Jupiter, Juice will begin its nominal science phase. The spacecraft will go on to spend many months orbiting Jupiter, completing fly-bys of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and finally conducting an orbital tour of Ganymede.[6]
Details
| Details about the JUICE mission | |
|---|---|
| Life time | 4yrs. |
| Launch | Kourou, French guinia |
| Rocket | Ariane 5 |
| Launch date | April 13, 2023 |
| Launch Time | 12:15UTC (8:15am EDT) (5:35pm IST) |
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Media
Juice inside Airbus Defence and Space Astrolabe facilities, 2023
Ariane 5 VA260 launch seen from Ibis viewpoint in Kourou at 13 km from the launchpad. The rocket successfully put the ESA Juice spacecraft into a 8 years trajectory toward Jupiter.
Ganymede view by the Galileo spacecraft
Section of Europa's icy surface, viewed from Galileo
Testing a 1:18 scale model of Juice's RIME antenna in the Hertz facility, 2023
The RIME antenna in stowed configuration. A "selfie" photograph, shortly after launch by the Juice monitoring camera 2 (JMC2), with Earth in the background
The scalar sub-instrument (MAGSCA), an optical magnetometer with low absolute error, is part of J-MAG
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details. NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ↑ "European Space Agency: Blast off for Jupiter icy moons mission" (in en-GB). BBC News. 14 April 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65273857. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ↑ Greicius, Tony. Juno - Mission to Jupiter. NASA (2015-02-13). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ↑ "European Space Agency: Blast off for Jupiter icy moons mission" (in en-GB). BBC News. 14 April 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65273857. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ↑ Juice factsheet (in en). www.esa.int. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Juice factsheet (in en). www.esa.int. Retrieved 2023-04-13.