Frankfurt, April 13, (dpa/GNA) – The Juice probe to explore the moons of Jupiter is scheduled to take off on Thursday afternoon from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
The probe is expected take eight years to reach the solar system’s largest planet, but then scientists hope to gain important insights into the giant planet and its moons: The question is whether life could exist here in principle.
The probe is on board an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Juice – short for “Jupiter icy moons explorer” – is directed from the European Space Agency (ESA) control centre in the south-western German city of Darmstadt near Frankfurt.
Before it can begin its work on Jupiter, the probe has a long journey ahead of it. It is scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in 2031.
This is the ESA’s longest-range mission into the solar system to date.
The probe has 10 scientific instruments on board with which it will take a look at the moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. Among other things, radar and laser measurements are planned for the flyby of the moons.
Initially, the probe is to deploy solar panels with a total size of 85 square metres after its launch – a first critical moment – as without the panels, the long flight cannot be managed.
GNA