The European Juice satellite flies past Earth at 10:57pm (Lisbon time) today, after flying past the Moon on Monday to capture energy from its gravitational fields on its way to Jupiter.
The spacecraft, which has a Portuguese “footprint”, will study Jupiter and its three largest moons, using the gravity of the Moon, Earth and Venus at different times, where it is due to pass in August 2025, to speed up the journey to the largest planet in the solar system.
Just over a week ago, the European Space Agency (ESA), the mission’s coordinator, said the gravity-based “slingshot” maneuver was high-risk, but scientists were optimistic it would be successful.
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, launched into space on April 14, 2023, is expected to arrive at Jupiter eight years later, in July 2031, making 35 close flybys of the icy moons (discovered by Galileo 400 years ago) and reaching one of them, Ganymede, in December 2034.
The satellite will allow us to study the largest planet in the solar system and the moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, where, according to scientists, liquid water (the basic element of life as we know it) may exist under the icy crust on the surface.
The first scientific data are expected in 2032, and the completion of the mission, which involves Portuguese companies, scientists and engineers, is scheduled for September 2035.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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