Imminent liftoff to Jupiter for the space probe Juice, acronym for “Jupiter and Icy Moons Explorer”, which translates to “Explorer of Jupiter and Icy Moons”.
The probe is due to leave Earth at 2:14 p.m. this Friday, April 14 aboard an Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou in Guyana. Here’s what you need to know about this European Space Agency mission, which is due to reach the fifth planet in our solar system in eight years.
The sequel after the ad
- What journey will the space probe make?
Jupiter is not a planet that can be reached by a direct trajectory. To arrive at the Jovian system, Juice will have to use the attraction force of other planets and fly over Earth to arrive around Venus in August 2025, then pass through Earth again to arrive at his destination in July 2031.
Have we (finally) crossed paths with an extraterrestrial civilization?
“It is the most complex probe ever sent to Jupiter”Philippe Baptiste, president of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), told AFP.
Juice will have to enter the orbit of the gaseous planet in total autonomy and then spend three years in its orbit.
The probe will fly over the moons Callisto, Ganymede and Europa 35 times, then place itself in orbit around Ganymede, which is the largest satellite of the gaseous planet.
The sequel after the ad
- Life on icy moons?
The largest planet in our solar system has been of great interest to astronomers. Nearly 900 million kilometers from Earth, exploration of the Jovian system (Jupiter, its satellites and its rings) began in the 1970s with the flyby of probes, until the launch of the Galilea probe ( 1995) and the Juno probe (2011).
Stars have disappeared and we don’t know why
Juice’s main goal is to find environments that could harbor life. Indeed, with their surfaces of ice, the moons of Jupiter probably hide oceans of liquid water, the main characteristic allowing life.
If Juice discovers that the oceans have direct contact with the surface, it would mean that the moons have ecosystems favorable to life, or present favorable conditions for the appearance of this one.
The European space probe will also make it possible to understand the influence of Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
The sequel after the ad
- Why will Juice fit into Ganymede’s orbit?
Ganymede is the largest natural satellite in our solar system. Its diameter of 5,260 km is greater than that of the planet Mercury, which is 4,878 km. It is also the only satellite to have three magnetic fields: the Jovian magnetic field, its own field, and a possible ocean-induced field.
This is the smallest (dwarf) planet in the Solar System!
Juice will enter the orbit of this moon in 2034. This will be the last phase of the mission towards the discovery of a geology never observed before. By being around Ganymede, the space probe will be able to gather information on the oceans hidden under the ice, map the lunar surfaces, and determine the evolution of the Jovian moons.
For scientists, this mission is important and quite exceptional. Juice could discover an ecosystem, but it will most importantly allow researchers to understand exoplanets outside the solar system (which resemble our gas giant planet) and their moons.
- Will Juice return to Earth?
The space mission will end in 2034, but could be extended for a few months. However, Juice will run out of fuel sometime between 2034 and 2035, and is expected to crash into the moon Ganymede.
