Europe sets out to conquer Jupiter in 2023: it's the Juice mission
Space Europe is going to launch one of its most important missions in its history: a probe is going to leave in the direction of Jupiter. But, it will be a very long odyssey
This must be the final lift-off for the Ariane 5 rocket. And, what a flight! The venerable launcher, which must then give way to Ariane 6 , must give the starting signal to JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer), a space mission bound for the largest planet in the solar system : the gaseous Jupiter . Certainly, the departure of JUICE is one of the great events in the space conquest of 2023 .
It is also a historic moment for the European Space Agency (ESA), as it is the very first time that a European probe will explore a planet beyond Mars , in the outer part of the solar system. In the past, there was already the Cassini-Huygens mission, but it was a cooperation with NASA (the transport to Saturn was provided by the Americans).
Cassini-Huygens flying over Enceladus, artist's impression. // Source: Kevin Gill
But, as its name suggests, this mission does not directly target Jupiter: it is its icy moons that interest ESA – in this case, Ganymede , Europe and Callisto. It was selected in 2012 as a major European space mission, ahead of two rival projects: NGO (a gravitational wave observatory ) and ATHENA (a telescope for high-energy astrophysics).
It's a long journey that awaits JUICE: here are the main dates to remember.
February 2023
Arrival of the space probe in French Guiana. It is from the Guiana space center in South America that the probe will be sent into space. Manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space, the machine will be transported by plane from metropolitan France – it has spent the last few months in Toulouse for final tests and adjustments before its departure without return.
February-March 2023
Preparations for takeoff begin with the positioning of the Ariane 5 rocket. Regarding the installation of the probe in the fairing of the launcher, it will occur a few days before. The loading of the tanks will only take place at the very last moment. ESA will conduct a launch simulation exercise at the Space Operations Center in Germany.
The Ariane 5 launch pad. // Source: ESA/Stephane Corvaja
April 2023
This is the decisive month for the JUICE mission. The shooting window runs from April 5 to 30. A week before launch, JUICE is installed in Ariane 5. A day before, the rocket is placed on its launch pad. The release of the probe must occur 28 minutes after takeoff, the acquisition of the signal at 33 minutes and the deployment of the solar panels at 50 minutes.
August 2024
First gravity assist at Earth level. The probe will not spin in a straight line towards Jupiter at first: on the contrary, it will stay several years in the inner solar system before really starting its journey towards Jupiter. These "flybys" use the gravity of the planets to propel the probe like throwing a stone with a slingshot, making it spin around.
August 2025
Second gravitational assistance, this time at the level of Venus. The probe will use the gravity of this planet, although it is farther from Jupiter than the Earth – which may seem paradoxical, since it returns towards the interior of the solar system.
September 2026
Return of JUICE to the vicinity of Earth for a third assist.
January 2029
Fourth and last gravitational assistance, always at the level of the Earth. You have to imagine that JUICE won't stay near the blue planet all this time. It will actually make large loops in space — its trajectory will look like a kind of ellipse, with the Earth sort of at the edge — same for the other "flybys", by the way.
July 2031
Arrival of the JUICE probe in the Jovian system — that is to say, the region where Jupiter reigns. It is on this occasion that the gravitational assistance will be used this time to decelerate the machine, taking advantage of the moons that it will have to observe later. An overflight of Ganymede is notably planned on this occasion. JUICE will also use its propulsion to slow down.
Jupiter, in all its immensity. And right next to it, to the left, the moon Europa. // Source: NASA, ESA, A. Simon, MH Wong & the OPAL team
July 2031 – November 2034
It is the scientific phase strictly speaking which must open, with several flybys of the moons of Jupiter — Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. Each of them has its particularity. ESA expects a total of 35 flybys. It is also an opportunity to study the Jovian system, a rare reference of a gas giant which can be visited by humanity, with a probe.
Callisto: moon which would have a vast underground ocean composed of salt water, 100 km deep. This environment would be conducive to the appearance of life.
Europe: similar to Callisto, with the addition of plumes of water vapor like geysers. The ejection of this water to the surface would make it possible to sample it one day with a dedicated mission.
Ganymede: the moon has an underground ocean. But it is above all the fact that this moon is the only one to have its own magnetic field in the solar system that makes it so interesting.
JUICE flying over Europe, artist's impression. // Source: YouTube ESA screenshot
December 2034 – September 2035
Arrival of the JUICE probe in orbit around Ganymede, which must be the end point of the mission. This must be spread out for a little less than a year. However, it is not impossible that ESA will extend the main mission depending on the state of the probe. But even without this extension, the initial mission, if completed, will be a considerable success for Europe.
Source : websites