ESA's JUICE spacecraft flies by Venus on its way to Jupiter's icy moons

A space probe flies by a tan planet.

During the wee hours of this morning (Aug. 31), a boxy spacecraft with solar wings in the shape of crosses flew right by Venus — if all went according to plan.

That probe is the European Space Agency's (ESA) JUICE ("Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer"), which is on its way to do just what you might expect after hearing its name.