The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an ESA interplanetary spacecraft, launched April 14, 2023 from Guiana Space Centre to study Jupiter's Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa, thought to have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces.

submitted by JasonCarswell from en.wikipedia.org

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[–]neolib 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Launch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvHcGmQPcsI&t=1774s

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Thanks!

[–]BISH 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Artist's impression of the JUICE spacecraft

European taxpayers were JUICED.

[–]Alphix 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Well I hope they accounted for the more dense than usual interplanetary dust, as well as its growth over the next decade. That's one thing that wasn't accounted for with regards to many satellites whose orbits are now decaying because of this.

[–]JasonCarswell[S] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

It will reach Jupiter in July 2031 after four gravity assists and eight years of travel. In December 2034, the spacecraft will enter orbit around Ganymede for its close-up science mission. Its period of operations will overlap with NASA's Europa Clipper mission, launching in 2024.