The launch of the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer has taken place today (April 14), a day after its original planned launch date.
The launch was delayed on Thursday due to a ‘risk of lightning’.
The launch was cancelled with only 10 minutes to go. The risks meant that engineers were afraid about the safety of the rocket.
Although the explorer has left Earth to start its mission, the journey before it reaches Jupiter and a number of its moons will take years.
But what exactly is Juice, and what are scientists hoping to uncover with the explorer?
Here is everything we know.
What is Juice?
Juice is an interplanetary spacecraft that was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Airbus Defence and Space team.
It will make its way to Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa — equipped with remote sensing, geophysical, and in-situ instruments.
When did Juice launch?
The spacecraft left Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 1.15pm UK time on Friday, April 14, 2023. However, it won’t reach Jupiter and its three moons until July 2031.
To celebrate the launch, the ESA reportedly offered Jupiter-inspired mocktails at its launch party.
Its journey will require four gravity assists and last for eight years. These assists will take place on August 2024, August 2025, September 2026, and January 2029.
As Juice will pass through the asteroid belt twice, another assist in October 2029 has been proposed as well.
In December 2034, if everything goes to plan, the explorer will enter orbit around Ganymede, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than our planet’s.
What are scientists hoping to discover with Juice?
Apart from studying the planet and its moon for scientific learning, the ESA wants to find out if Jupiter’s ocean-bearing moons are possible habitats.
Given the significant bodies of liquid they house beneath their surface, experts believe that there is a chance that they house habitable environments.
The ESA also wants the spacecraft to study the gas giant to create an archetype for how planets like these operate across the Universe.
