2023, like 2022, will be important for space exploration. One of the highlights is the launch of the European Juice mission, which will study Jupiter and its three large icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, which may harbor oceans beneath their surface.

Equipped with ten instruments led by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Juice probe will help scientists learn more about how the giant planets and their moons formed, as well as their ability to support life, EFE and Agerpres write.

The launch window is scheduled for April, and the probe is expected to reach Jupiter in July 2031.

The overarching theme of the Juice mission is the discovery of potentially habitable worlds around gas giant planets. It is known that life originated on only one planet – Earth. “Did life originate exclusively on our planet, or could it also appear in other parts of the solar system or beyond?” ESA asks on its website.

Juice, whose main contractor is Airbus, will explore the habitable zones – regions where an Earth-like planet could support liquid water if it existed – by characterizing the oceans, ice caps, composition, surface, environment and activity of Ganymede’s moons , Europa and Callisto.

In addition, it will conduct a broader analysis of the Jupiter system, determining the characteristics of its turbulent atmosphere, magnetic environment, ring system and other moons, including Io.

The mission is led by ESA in cooperation with the US space agency NASA, which provided one of the instruments (UVS) and equipment for the other instruments. The Japanese space agency JAXA is also involved with equipment for various instruments.

The launch will take place from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket.

Equipped with ten solar panels, the Juice probe will travel for about eight years before reaching Jupiter.

The mission is equipped with a number of remote sensing instruments to fulfill its scientific objectives during the nearly four years of research.

According to Alter Technology, which is involved in the mission, the spacecraft will fly past the moon Callisto, the most cratered body in the Solar System. It will also fly over Europa twice to make the first measurements of the thickness of its ice crust.

Juice will eventually orbit Ganymede, where it will study the moon’s icy surface and internal structure, including the volume of water beneath the ice sheet.