Juice launched, the probe aimed at Jupiter and its moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which hide oceans that could host life under the frozen surface.
The launch took place with an Ariane 5 from the European base of Kourou (French Guiana) and is the beginning of an 8-year journey.
In the mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), Italy plays a leading role with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), universities, public research bodies and industry.
A third of the instruments intended to study such distant worlds up close, as well as Juice's solar panels, the largest ever to go into space, are Italian.
On board Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorerer) there is also a plaque which reproduces the title page and the two pages of the book 'Sidereus Nuncius', in which in 1610 Galileo had described the moons to which the mission was directed.
In the eight-year journey that has just begun, the Juice probe will take the push to reach Jupiter thanks to close passages with Venus, with the Earth and, for the first time in the history of space exploration, also with the Earth-Moon system.
The arrival in the orbit of Jupiter is expected in July 2031, then the close passages to the three moons will begin.