JUICE mission: European Space Agency set to launch Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice): What is the mission about

Source: The post is based on the article “European Space Agency set to launch Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice): What is the mission about” published in Indian Express on 13th April 2023

What is the News?

The European Space Agency (ESA) is all set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer or Juice mission. The spacecraft will reach Jupiter by 2031.

What is the purpose of the JUICE mission?

Launched by: European Space Agency(ESA) 

Objectives of the mission:

To make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa by using remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments.

– The main focus will be on Ganymede, as it is the largest moon in the Solar System — larger than Pluto and Mercury — and the only one to generate its own magnetic field. 

To create a comprehensive picture of Jupiter by trying to understand its origin, history and evolution.

To analyze the chemistry, structure, dynamics, weather, and climate of Jupiter and its ever-changing atmosphere.

Is the JUICE mission capable of detecting life?

The three moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa are believed to hold immense amounts of water which could be around six times more than the volume of water in Earth’s oceans, there is a possibility that life is present on them. According to ESA, life on these moons could be in the form of microbes.

However, JUICE mission isn’t equipped to detect life. But it is capable of finding out whether there could be places around Jupiter, inside the icy moons, where the necessary conditions, such as water, biological essential elements, energy, and stability, to sustain life are present.

What is the significance of the JUICE mission?

Only two other spacecraft have ever examined Jupiter: the Galileo probe, which orbited the gas giant between 1995 and 2003, and Juno, which has been circling the planet since 2016. 

However, by the time the Juice mission reaches Jupiter, another spacecraft, NASA’s Europa Clipper, would already be orbiting the planet — scheduled to be launched in October 2023. Europa Clipper would reach Jupiter in 2030 and aims to study its Europa moon.