ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) took off on April 14 at 9:04 a.m. on an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Space Station in French Guiana. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious journey to unravel the mysteries of the surrounding ocean. giant planet Jupiter.

After launch and separation from the rocket, the European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, confirmed the signal at 09:04 ET (15:04 CET) via the New Norcia ground station in Australia. The spacecraft’s massive 27-metre (88-foot) long solar panels morphed into a distinctive cross shape at 09:33 ET (3:33 pm CET), allowing Juice to travel to the outer Solar System. The completion of this critical operation meant a successful launch.

“ESA, together with its international partners, is heading towards Jupiter,” says Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director-General. “The spectacular launch of Juice embodies the vision and ambition of those who designed the mission decades ago, the skill and passion of everyone who built this incredible machine, the drive of our flight operations team, and the curiosity of the global scientific community. Together, we continue to push the boundaries of science and research to answer humanity’s biggest questions. We will.”

“Thanks to ESA’s leadership and the efforts and commitment of hundreds of European industry and academic institutions, the Juice mission has become a reality,” says Giuseppe Sarri, ESA’s Juice Project Manager. “Together with our partners NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Israel Space Agency, who also provide hardware and science instruments, we have reached this long-awaited launch milestone.”

From Galileo to Jus

Shining brightly in the night sky, Jupiter has been fascinating ever since our ancient ancestors first saw it. In 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei focused on Jupiter, observed the planet for the first time with a telescope, and discovered moons in its orbit. His observations overturned the old idea that everything in the sky revolves around the Earth. With a plaque commemorating Galileo’s discoveries centuries later, Jus will see Jupiter and its moons in a way Galileo could not have imagined.

Thanks to the legacy of previous Jupiter missions (see infographic below), we now know that the planet’s three largest moons – Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – contain buried amounts of water in volumes far greater than Earth’s oceans. These planet-sized moons are giving us promising clues that life conditions may not be found here in our “pale blue dot,” and Juice has the opportunity to get us one step closer to answering this tantalizing question.

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission launched on April 14, 2023 to make detailed observations of the gas giant and three major oceanic moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa using a remote sensing, geophysical and other equipment. vehicles are in place. Joos will characterize these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitable locations, exploring Jupiter’s complex environment in detail, and studying the larger Jupiter system as an archetype of gas giants in the universe.

“More than 400 years ago, Galileo discovered moons orbiting Jupiter, this news shocked the Renaissance world and revolutionized humanity’s understanding of our place in the universe,” said Carol Mandell, ESA’s Science Director. “Today we have sent a groundbreaking package of science instruments for a journey to these moons that will give us unimaginable close-up images for previous generations. The juice carries the dreams of anyone who has looked at Jupiter shining brightly in the night sky and wondered about our origins.

“The wealth of data that ESA Juice will provide will enable the scientific community around the world to explore and solve the mysteries of the Jupiter system, explore the nature and habitability of oceans on other worlds, and answer questions yet to be asked by future generations of scientists.”