JUICE Mission: Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) in 2023.

About JUICE Mission

JUICE

The JUICE mission will explore Jupiter’s three large moons: Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede, which are believed to have subsurface oceans.
The mission’s goal is to determine if these moons could potentially support life by studying their environments.
JUICE is set to perform a novel and risky double slingshot manoeuvre using the gravity of both the moon and the earth.
Significance of the JUICE Mission

- Nasa’s Galileo mission: This mission follows NASA’s Galileo mission from the 1990s but aims to delve deeper into Jupiter’s moons and their ability to harbour life.
- Double slingshot: Successful execution of the double slingshot will demonstrate advanced orbital navigation and set JUICE on a steady course for its groundbreaking exploration of the Jovian system.

Efficient Travel to Jupiter: The double slingshot allows JUICE to reach Jupiter without needing a massive rocket or extra fuel by using gravity for propulsion.
Precise Gravity Assistance: The alignment of the moon and earth helps JUICE use their gravity to adjust its speed and direction accurately.
Further Gravity Boosts: After this manoeuvre, JUICE will receive additional boosts from Venus in 2025 and earth in 2026 and 2029 to continue its journey towards Jupiter.

Galileo: It was the first spacecraft to orbit a gas giant from 1995 to 2003.
- It revealed that beneath the icy crust of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, there is a layer of salt liquid water.
- This mission also disclosed that Ganymede has a magnetic field and detected light on Jupiter that is 1000 times stronger than lighting on earth.
Juno: This spacecraft arrived at Jupiter in 2016.
- The primary mission of this spacecraft was to study Jupiter, mapping of atmosphere, magnetic fields, gravitational fields, and aurora to understand the planet’s structure.
Europa Clipper: This mission is set to launch in October 2024.
- Unlike Juice, this mission will use gravity assist from earth and mars.
- This mission will focus on Jupiter’s icy moon.

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