2024-08-20 14:20:54
To reach Jupiter, the European JUICE probe, launched in April 2023, must perform a series of complex maneuvers. Among these, a double gravity assist around the Moon yesterday, then around the Earth this evening, August 20. These maneuvers are essential to save fuel during his long voyage from eight years to the gas giant and its frozen moons.
The JUICE probe, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), has the mission of exploring Jupiter’s moons, including Ganymede, Callisto and EuropeThese moons, covered in ice, could shelter oceans under their surfacemaking this mission particularly intriguing for researchers. However, reaching Jupiter, located about 800 million kilometers from Earth, is not an easy task. Indeed, to get there quickly and in a straight line, the probe would have needed 60 tons of fuel, a mass well beyond the capabilities of the rocket Ariane 5 that launched it. To get around this problem, engineers use a technique called gravity assist. This method involves using the gravity of celestial bodies to alter the path of the probe and make it gain (or lose) vitessewhile minimizing fuel consumption. For JUICE, this technique is illustrated by a series of planned flybys: after flying past the Moon at a distance of 700 km, the probe will fly past the Earth at a distance of 6,807 km. This double flyby is a first in space history.
This maneuver allows JUICE to lose speed in order to head towards Venus, which it will flyby in 2025. Subsequently, the probe will carry out two new flybys of the Earth in 2026 and 2029 to definitively adjust its trajectory towards Jupiter, where it will arrive in 2031. This strategy, although long, is the only viable solution to reach Jupiter without carrying an excessive quantity of fuel.
In addition to changing JUICE’s trajectory, this double flyby will also be an opportunity for the ground team to test the probe’s scientific instruments in conditions similar to those it will encounter around Jupiter’s moons. ESA plans to share the images captured during this unprecedented space rendezvous.
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