JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) Mission

In News

• The JUICE mission will be the first time that the European Space Agency (ESA) has sent a spacecraft beyond the asteroid belt.

JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer)

• About:
  • JUICE is the first large-class mission in the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme. 
  • The spacecraft will launch on an Ariane 5 in April 2023 on an eight-year journey including gravity assist flybys of Earth and Venus before arriving in the Jupiter system in 2031.
• Goals: 
  • It will spend at least three years making detailed observations of the giant gaseous planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
  • It will understand if the oceans of these icy moons could have ever been suitable habitats for life.
• Components & Different Experiments:
  • JANUS – Camera system 
  • MAJIS – Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer
  • UVS – UV imaging Spectrograph 
  • SWI – Sub-millimeter Wave Instrument
  • GALA – GAnymede Laser Altimeter
  • RIME – Radar for Icy Moons Exploration
  • J-MAG – A magnetometer instrument for JUICE
  • PRIDE – Planetary Radio Interferometer & Doppler Experiment

Source: skyatnightmagazine