An 8-year journey… Launching the “Joss” space probe to explore Jupiter’s moons
Friday – 23 Ramadan 1444 AH – April 14, 2023 AD
The space probe “Joss” was launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana (AP)
Paris: «Asharq Al-Awsat»
The space probe “Joss” launched today (Friday) to explore the moons of Jupiter, which is the longest trip undertaken by a probe of the European Space Agency “ESA”, according to the German news agency.
The probe launched at exactly 2:14 pm CET from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, as evidenced by live broadcast images at the ESA control center in Darmstadt, Germany.
The launch, which was originally scheduled for yesterday (Thursday), had previously been canceled due to the risk of thunderstorms.
It is expected to take the probe eight years to reach the largest planet in the solar system, but after that scientists hope to obtain important insights about the giant planet and its moons and an answer to the question of whether life could exist there in principle.
The probe is on board the Ariane 5 rocket.
The probe, JOS – whose name comes from the initials for “Jupiter’s Icy Moon Explorer” – is directed from the European Space Agency’s control center in Darmstadt, southwestern Germany, near Frankfurt.
The probe has a long journey before it begins its work on Jupiter, and it is scheduled to reach Jupiter in 2031.
This is the European Space Agency’s longest mission to the solar system to date. The probe is equipped with ten scientific instruments through which the moons “Europe, Callisto and Ganymede” will be seen.
After its launch, the probe will deploy solar panels of 85 square meters, which is the first critical moment, because without the panels, the long journey cannot be managed.
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