The ESA space probe "Juice" starts on a 600 million kilometer journey to the planet Jupiter and its icy moons.
Kourou – On Thursday (April 13) the time has come: The most complex planetary mission of the European space agency Esa is to start from the European spaceport in Kourou in French Guiana.
The "Juice" spacecraft, which weighed six tons when it was launched, is to fly to the planet Jupiter and its icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The mission cost around 1.6 billion euros, "Juice" stands for ("Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer").
The icy moons of the gas giant Jupiter in particular are the focus of the "Juice" mission.
They are suspected of harboring oceans beneath their icy shells - a fact that makes them particularly exciting for research.
Can such an environment accommodate life?
That is a question that the ESA mission aims to answer.
Although it is not directly about finding life - the Esa probe is not properly equipped for that.
Instead, it is about whether life is also possible in regions in space where no liquid water can exist on the surface of a celestial body.
ESA's Juice spacecraft flies to Jupiter and its icy moons
But before that happens, the space probe has to cover a long distance: the journey of “Juice” is 600 million kilometers long, and the arrival on Jupiter is planned for more than eight years.
Before that happens, the "Juice" probe still has to overcome all sorts of hurdles - starting with the launch.
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The "Juice" probe is unpacked at the European spaceport in French Guiana
© dpa/ESA-CNES-Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/S.
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The space probe will be launched on April 13 at 2:15 p.m. by an “Ariane 5” rocket from the Kourou spaceport.
It will be the last launch of an "Ariane 5", the successor "Ariane 6" is scheduled to launch for the first time in autumn.
Because the April 13 launch window for Juice is very small, the slightest delay could result in the launch being pushed back a day.
The launch of "Juice" is scheduled for April 13th
The launch of the rocket carrying the "Juice" spacecraft will be streamed live on the Internet by EsaTV on April 13th.
The important milestones are as follows:
2:15 p.m.: | Launch of the Ariane 5 rocket with Juice |
|---|---|
2:42 p.m.: | Juice spacecraft separates from the rocket upper stage |
2:51 p.m.: | Earliest possible time to receive a signal from Juice |
3:55 p.m.: | Deploying the solar panels should be complete |
Source: Esa |
The spacecraft has a full program until it enters an orbit around the planet Jupiter in 2031.
Among other things, it flies past the earth three times (2024, 2026 and 2029) to gain momentum for the long journey.
It also flies past Venus (2025) once.
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The gas giant Jupiter will soon have visitors: the Esa space probe "Juice" is to visit it and three of its moons.
(archive image)
© D. Peach/Chilescope team/ESA/dpa
From July 2031 to November 2034, the “Juice” space probe is to orbit Jupiter and fly by the three moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa a total of 35 times.
In December 2034, the European mission is scheduled to enter orbit around Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, and orbit it until September 2035.
At the end of the mission, a crash on Ganymede is planned - if no find is made that contradicts this plan.
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Rubric list image: © dpa/ESA-CNES-Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/S.
Martin
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