Airbus. The JUICE spacecraft will soon leave Toulouse… bound for Jupiter!
Through Simon Vermot Desroches
Published on
“It was a amazing adventure with over 80 companies across Europe, to bring ESA’s vision to life and ultimately study Jupiter and its icy moons in depth. »
Cyrille CavelProject Manager JUICE at the house of Airbus Defense and Space, can be fierce. The interplanetary probe JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission) is completed. Finalized at Airbus premises by its teams, it will leave at the beginning of February Toulouseto pay Kourouin French Guiana, with a view to taking off aboard Ariane 5 in April 2023.
two billion kilometers
JUICE is the name of a spaceship from 6.2 tons which intends to make a journey of two billion kilometers to collect data on the icy moons of Jupiter. “And try to understand if these moons bring together the conditions conducive to microbial life”, explains Airbus space. Just that !
Life near Jupiter?
The mission will last four years and will focus on the moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. Ganymede will be particularly scrutinized, since JUICE will spend nine months in orbit around this icy moon to analyze its composition and its evolution, characterize its ocean under the ice and study its potential habitability.
Largest solar panels ever built
The vessel has been on the premises of the European aircraft manufacturer since August 2021 for final assembly as well as a battery of tests. “In particular integrating the latest instruments and solar panels, the largest ever integrated on Earth for a mission of planetary exploration. They are necessary to power the mission 740 million kilometers from the Sun,” explains Airbus Space.
A plaque honoring Galileo
A commemorative plaque was unveiled this Friday, January 20, then mounted on the spacecraft in honor of Galileo. The Italian astronomer was the first to observe Jupiter and its largest moons through a telescope in 1610. 400 years later, JUICE will do it much closer!
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