Arianespace to launch Europe’s first mission to Jupiter
Arianespace is set to launch Europe’s first mission of Jupiter next week.
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) space probe for the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch on April 13th from the SpacePort in French Guiana on the first Ariane 5 mission of the year.
JUICE, built by Airbus Defence and Space, will take eight years to travel to Jupiter and from 2031 will spend at least three years making detailed observations of the moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
After the separation at an altitude of 1,538 km, the JUICE spacecraft will reach a velocity of 2.5km/s once out of the Earth gravitational field.
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JUICE will carry the most powerful scientific payload ever flown to the outer Solar System. It consists of ten leading edge instruments plus one science experiment that uses the spacecraft telecommunication system with ground-based radio telescopes.
The 6 ton space probe will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. JUICE will characterize 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.
JUICE is the first ‘large-class’ mission of the Cosmic Vision science program. This includes a series of three exoplanets missions.
The long delayed next generation launcher, Ariane 6, is due for its first launch in the fourth quarter of 2023 after a series of key tests this year. It will have two versions, Ariane 62, for institutional missions such as the research missions and Ariane 64 to launch commercial satellites into orbit.
www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
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