JUICE, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
The European Space Agency’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer, or JUICE spacecraft, is set to launch on April 13, 2023, atop an Ariane 5 rocket. The probe will head to Jupiter, but its primary targets are three icy moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. These moons are of great interest to both planetary scientists and astrobiologists, as they feature dynamic surfaces and possibly warm liquid oceans tucked beneath their icy surfaces.
JUICE is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2031 following an eight-year journey. The spacecraft will make history in 2034 by becoming the first probe to fully orbit a moon other than our own. At 10,600 pounds, JUICE is unusually heavy, but its 10 onboard instruments will undoubtedly collect a dazzling array of data, including the chemical compositions of each moon and their complex surface topography, among many other measurements. Indeed, JUICE is poised to redefine our understanding of the Galilean moons.
