2024-08-21 14:14:30
The Juice spacecraft has made the first-ever close flyby of the Moon and Earth to facilitate its journey to Jupiter, AFP and DPA reported, citing the European Space Agency (ESA).
The maneuver saw the probe, launched in April last year, pass close to the moon on August 19 just after 21:00 GMT before flying over Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean the next day just before 22:00 GMT at an altitude of only 6840 kilometers.
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“Mission JUICE” (Jupiter’s Icy Moons Explorer) 🚀.
– by ESA( European Space Agency)– Timeline : 8 years.#juicemission #Space
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During the close flybys, the probe took pictures with its on-board cameras and collected scientific data with eight of its ten instruments, ESA said from its operations center in Darmstadt, Germany.
“The gravity-assisted flyby was flawless, everything went smoothly and we were thrilled to see Juice return so close to Earth,” Ignacio Tanco, head of mission operations, was quoted as saying by DPA.
The operation consists of passing close to a celestial body in order to use its gravitational pull, a natural force that deflects the spacecraft’s trajectory and changes its speed, speeding it up or slowing it down.
The Ariane 5 launch vehicle that launched the Juice probe into space isn’t powerful enough to direct it directly to the largest planet in the solar system, about 800 million kilometers from Earth.
8yrs to reach Jupiter!
Launched today, #JUICEMission the 1st European #space endeavour to #jupiter will take 8yrs (July 2031) to reach there & study 3 of Jupiter’s icy moons, oceans below& explore potential for human life
6-ton craft launched by @esa #Ariane5 #rocket pic.twitter.com/JuxkfsruR9
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) April 14, 2023
Numerous space missions have already used this method, known as gravity assist, but the flyby of the Moon in combination with that of Earth is a “world first”, ESA said.
In performing the maneuver, the Juice probe sped up slightly as it glided by the Moon, then slowed more sharply as it passed near Earth, and most notably changed course toward Venus, which it will reach in 2025. Mr.
Juice will then return to Earth for two flybys in 2026 and 2029 before reaching Jupiter in July 2031. The probe will then be able to observe its icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in search of environments conducive to the appearance of extraterrestrial life, writes BTA.
The maneuver between the Moon and the Earth was made possible thanks to small corrections of the trajectory in the month preceding the flyby of the two celestial bodies. It also provided an opportunity to test the probe’s instruments that will be used to observe Jupiter’s moons.
ESA described the maneuver as “inherently risky” but said it saved the mission some fuel. This means Juice will have more fuel than originally planned to get closer to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.
“Thanks to the very precise navigation of the flight dynamics team, we were able to use only a small fraction of the fuel for this flight. This way we will have reserves that we keep for rainy days or to extend the science mission after we reach Jupiter,” said more Ignacio Tanco.
🌏🛰️ At this time we expect #ESAJuice to have reached closest approach to Earth, at just 6840 km.
We will receive confirmation tomorrow morning, when communication is resumed with the spacecraft.
Stay tuned for updates in the morning 👋 pic.twitter.com/1Ob4GpGeRp
— ESA’s Juice mission (@ESA_JUICE) August 20, 2024
When it reaches Jupiter in 2031, Juice will make 35 flybys of the three large moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – before heading into orbit around Ganymede.
The mission around Jupiter is planned to last between 2031 and 2035.