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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer | 3/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Icy_Moons_Explorer | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:18:32.966259+00:00 | kb-cron |
Flyby of the Earth–Moon system, completed in August 2024 Venus flyby, completed in August 2025 Second flyby of Earth in September 2026 Third and final flyby of Earth in January 2029 Juice will pass through the asteroid belt twice. A flyby of the asteroid (223) Rosa was proposed to occur in October 2029, but was removed from the mission plan to save fuel for the primary Jovian mission. Gravity assists within the Jovian system include:
Jupiter orbit insertion and apocentre reduction with multiple Ganymede gravity assists Reduction of velocity with Ganymede–Callisto assists Increase inclination with 10–12 Callisto gravity assists
== Jupiter mission phases == The main characteristics of the Jupiter reference tour are summarised below (source: Table 5-2 of ESA/SRE(2014)1). This scenario assumed an early June 2022 launch, however, the delta-V requirements are representative due to the rather short, repetitive orbital configurations of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
== Science objectives ==
The Juice orbiter will perform detailed investigations on Ganymede and evaluate its potential to support life. Investigations of Europa and Callisto will complete a comparative picture of these Galilean moons. The three moons are thought to harbour internal liquid water oceans, and so are central to understanding the habitability of icy worlds.
=== Ganymede and Callisto === The main science objectives for Ganymede, and to a lesser extent for Callisto, are:
Characterisation of the ocean layers and detection of putative subsurface water reservoirs Topographical, geological and compositional mapping of the surface Study of the physical properties of the icy crusts Characterisation of the internal mass distribution, dynamics and evolution of the interiors Investigation of Ganymede's tenuous atmosphere Study of Ganymede's intrinsic magnetic field and its interactions with the Jovian magnetosphere.
=== Europa === For Europa, the focus is on the chemistry essential to life, including organic molecules, and on understanding the formation of surface features and the composition of the non-water-ice material. The chemical investigations will be focused also on the question which chemicals originated underground and were brought to the surface by tectonics or cryovolcanism, and which arrived from above, originating at other places within the Jovian system. Furthermore, Juice will provide the first subsurface sounding of the moon, including the first determination of the minimal thickness of the icy crust over the most recently volcanically active regions. Juice will be able to determine if pockets of liquid water exist within the ice and possibly also probe the interface between the icy shell and the subsurface ocean.
=== Io === Juice will monitor the volcanic activity of Io and study the composition of its surface materials from a distance of a few hundred thousand kilometers. The JANUS camera system will track surface changes at a scale of 6-12 km per pixel, the UVS instrument will attempt to detect sulfur dioxide emissions and auroras, and the PEP instrument will monitor Io's plasma torus.
=== Other moons and Jupiter's rings === Juice will carry out distant observations of several inner and outer (irregular) satellites of Jupiter throughout its mission. These distant observations of irregular moons involve measuring changes in their brightness over long periods of time, which will enable the determination of their shapes and synodic rotation periods. During its first orbit around Jupiter, Juice will pass within 600,000 km (370,000 mi) of Jupiter's irregular moon Kallichore in October 2031. The trajectory of Juice could potentially be adjusted to fly even closer to Kallichore for high-resolution imaging of its surface, but this possibility remains under investigation by the Juice mission team as of 2026. The mission will also observe Jupiter's dusty rings and study their interactions with the small inner moons: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, and Thebe. Juice is expected to provide the first detailed spectrographic images of these moons orbiting inside Io's orbit and contribute to solving the so called "Amalthea's Paradox" referring to the moon's surprisingly low density.
=== Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetosphere === Juice will repeatedly map Jupiter's atmosphere and use its instruments to explore the poorly understood middle and upper atmosphere, focusing on the processes connecting the various layers and measuring, for the first time, the winds in Jupiter's middle atmosphere. These observations are expected to deepen our understanding of the transport of energy between various regions of the atmosphere and the processes behind the longevity of the Great Red Spot and other weather systems. Juice will also conduct detailed studies of Jupiter’s magnetosphere and focus on its interactions with the Galilean moons, especially the processes transporting plasma from Io to the icy moons.
== Science instruments ==
On 21 February 2013, after a competition, 10 science instruments (plus one experiment using the spacecraft's telecommunication system) were selected by ESA, which were developed by science and engineering teams from all over Europe, with participation from the US. Japan also contributed several components for SWI, RPWI, GALA, PEP, JANUS, and J-MAG instruments, and will facilitate testing.
=== Jovis, Amorum ac Natorum Undique Scrutator (JANUS) === The name is Latin for "comprehensive observation of Jupiter, his love affairs and descendants." It is a camera system to image Ganymede and interesting parts of the surface of Callisto at better than 400 m/pixel (resolution limited by mission data volume). Selected targets will be investigated in high-resolution with a spatial resolution from 25 m/pixel down to 2.4 m/pixel with a 1.3° field of view. The camera system has 13 panchromatic, broad and narrow-band filters in the 0.36 μm to 1.1 μm range, and provides stereo imaging capabilities. JANUS will also allow relating spectral, laser, and radar measurements to geomorphology and thus will provide the overall geological context.