ESA JUICE probe's rocket has a cheerful artwork made by a 10-year-old; Here's why

The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its first-ever mission to Jupiter on April 13 to explore the gas giant and its icy Moons. The mission named JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) is scheduled to launch at 5:45 pm IST from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana aboard the Ariane 5 rocket, the one which launched the James Webb Space Telescope on December 25, 2021. This time, the ESA has added a unique element to the rocket, an artwork made by a ten-year-old symbolising curious young minds and their creativity. 

Spot the artwork on the fairing of @ariane5 #VA260?
We invited children from all over the world to create a piece of art inspired by @ESA_JUICE and the winning design by 10-year-old Yaryna can be seen here.

Full story 👉 https://t.co/j5N0pF3YkG pic.twitter.com/BUwl2Nr7WP

— ESA (@esa)

Cute, cheerful and genuine'

The artwork has been pasted on the Ariane 5 rocket's fairing, the top portion of the rocket where the JUICE spacecraft will be fitted. According to ESA, this artwork was selected from 2,600 paintings that were collected from kids from 63 different countries over two years through the  ‘Juice Up Your Rocket’ competition. This particular piece, which features the Earth, handing over JUICE to Jupiter surrounded by its Moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, was drawn by a ten-year-old named Yaryna, per ESA. 

When asked why the agency experts chose this painting, JUICE engineer Manuela Baroni said, "It is so cute, cheerful and genuine. It contains the main elements of the mission – Jupiter, the icy moons, and Juice itself, but we love that it also contains Earth, highlighting the huge amount of effort that we are all putting in. We also chose it because of the clear lines and colours that would show up well at the top of the rocket. We can now see that it was definitely the right choice.”

The JUICE mission is ESA's most ambitious one and it will begin eight years (after July 2031) from now when the spacecraft reaches its destination. The primary goals of this mission are to characterise Jupiter and gather information about its origin and its effects on its Moon and vice versa. Another major goal is to peer through the thick icy crust of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as they are believed to harbour vast oceans inside them.

JUICE will help scientists verify if conditions there are suitable for (microbial) life and if there were any in the past. The major goal, however, is to finally enter the orbit of Ganymede, which is bigger than Mercury and Pluto and has its own magnetic field. JUICE will explore what makes this Moon so unique and will become the first spacecraft to orbit a Moon other than Earth's. The spacecraft has a minimum life span of three years, although the mission could be extended for a few more months.