Juice probe shortens path to Jupiter

ESA has completed a flyby of the Moon and Earth with its Juice probe, using gravity to send it on its way to Venus. shortcut to jupiter through the inner solar system. Its closest approach to the Moon was at 21:15 UTC on August 19, and Juice approached Earth just over 24 hours later, at 21:56 UTC on August 20.

As JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) flew just 4,100 miles (6,840 km) over Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, it took a series of images with its onboard tracking cameras and collected scientific data with eight of its 10 instruments.The gravity-assisted flyby went flawlessly. “Everything went perfectly and we were thrilled to see Juice return so close to Earth,” Ignacio Tanco, the mission’s director of spacecraft operations, said in a statement.

The purpose of the flyby was to change the ship’s trajectory through space, using first the Moon’s gravity and then the Earth’s to change the spacecraft’s speed and direction.

The trip required ultra-precise real-time navigation, but saved about 100 to 150 kilograms of fuel. Spacecraft operators gave the probe a gentle nudge last month to get it on the right approach path. They then tracked the probe around the clock from Aug. 17 to 22.

Thanks to the flawless launch of Ariane 5 in April 2023, Juice has a little more fuel left in its tanks to get closer to the moon Ganymede than originally planned. “Thanks to very precise navigation “We have managed to use only a small fraction of the fuel reserved for this flyby, according to ESA’s Flight Dynamics Team. This will increase the reserves we have for a rainy day or to extend the scientific mission once we reach Jupiter,” adds Tanko.

This lunar-Earth flyby effectively reduced Juice’s energy, redirecting it to an encounter with Venus in August 2025. It will then head back toward Earth; the spacecraft will fly by our planet again in September 2026 and January 2029, before receiving two more boosts. will reach Jupiter in July 2031.