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Just over a year after it was launched, the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is returning towards the earth on August 19–20
It will use the braking effect of its gravity to take a shortcut to Venus and onwards to Jupiter.
JUICE mission
European Space Agency launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission to explore Jupiter and its icy moons, namely Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.
Launched from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 launcher.
The mission is set to reach Jupiter in 2031.
The spacecraft was constructed by Airbus Defence and Space, a division of the Airbus group.
Objectives
To create detailed maps of the moons' surfaces and look beneath them to probe the potential habitable environments by analyzing the water bodies underneath.
To create a comprehensive picture of Jupiter by trying to understand its origin, history, and evolution.
Few other nations’ space agencies have partnered with ESA on various levels for the JUICE mission
NASA has contributed Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) & hardware for two European-provided instruments (RIME and PEP)
JAXA has contributed hardware for various European-provided instruments (SWI, PEP, GALA, RPWI)
The focus will be on Ganymede (the largest moon in the Solar System, which generates its magnetic field).
The three moons, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa, are believed to hold immense amounts of water, potentially making them habitable.
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