European Space Agency mission to explore Jupiter’s moons

The European Space Agency (ESA) will start next Thursday (13), Mission to explore Jupiter and its moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Scientists want to know whether the oceans beneath the ice sheets on the surface of the three natural satellites have the potential to host life.

The study will be carried out free of charge by the “Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer” (Juice) or “Explorador das Luas Frozen de Jupiter” probe, which carries various scientific instruments as well as cameras and sensors. ESA wants to record high-resolution images and create 3D maps during observations.

It is also noteworthy that it is located in the nave. The largest solar panels ever used in space travel. They cover an area of ​​85 square meters, allowing them to absorb maximum energy to keep the equipment running even when away from the sun.

It is assumed that ESA’s Juice spacecraft will spend four years studying Jupiter’s moonspoints out that the gas giant has dozens of other natural satellites orbiting it. The first of these, including Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, were discovered by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.

Long trip

It is scheduled to launch this week, with the Ariane 5 rocket departing from the Kourou base in French Guiana. Juice’s journey should end in July 2031, when the probe will reach the largest planet in the Solar System, according to the mission team’s calculations. It will take about 8 years to sail into deep space.

The spacecraft will initially take advantage of Earth’s and then Venus’s gravity to gain momentum along the way. At a certain point, it starts maneuvering into the orbit of the gas giant, operating on its own without any intervention from the technicians.

Already near Jupiter, there will be 35 close passes to the icy moons before it definitively enters Ganymede’s orbit around 2034.