ESA announces launch date of its JUICE mission to explore Jupiter's oceanic Moons

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced Monday that its JUICE mission is targeted for launch on April 13. JUICE, which stands for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, aims to explore the ocean-bearing Moons– Europa, Ganymede and Callisto– by peering beneath the icy surface of Jupiter’s satellites. “The mission will characterise these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe," the ESA said in an official statement. 

Who doesn’t love a good #unboxing moment?! 🎁

Our beautiful #ESAJuice spacecraft arrived @EuropeSpaceport last week and we’re unpacking ready for launch preparations. Target launch date: 13 April! 🚀

More info coming soon! https://t.co/qlENO5VQUN#SaveTheDate #ExploreFarther pic.twitter.com/pZu5HF0wu5

— ESA's JUICE mission (@ESA_JUICE)

The JUICE spacecraft has already been shipped to the French Guiana spaceport and will be launched aboard Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket. Moving forward, the spacecraft will undergo final testing and inspection by ESA engineers before it is fuelled up and integrated into the Ariane 5 rocket. 

More about the mission

The JUICE spacecraft will begin an eight-year-long voyage to Jupiter after the launch and will reach its destination in 2031. Owing to Jupiter's staggering distance from the Earth, the mission team will conduct a series of gravity-assist flybys of Earth and Venus to slingshot it toward the gas giant through the asteroid belt. Once JUICE arrives at Jupiter, the mission team will carry out another 35 guided flybys of Jupiter's Moons. The mission will conclude in 2034, says ESA, although extension of JUICE's operations are also likely. JUICE will become the first spacecraft to orbit a Moon other than the Earth's.

As for the spacecraft itself, it is equipped with a suite of ten instruments including cameras, spectrometers and magnetometers to examine the icy-bodies. It also has ten solar panels (each measuring 2.5 meter X 3.5 meter) and with five on each side, it spans about 85 square meters. According to ESA, it has a dry mass of approximately 2,400 kg and weighs roughly 6,000 kg when fully fueled. Notably, NASA is also developing a spacecraft to explore Europa through its Europa Clipper mission which is targeted for launch next year.