The Jupiter probe recently completed its first dual-world flyby, capturing beautiful views of the moon and Earth as it zipped through the inner solar system.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released footage of JUICE’s flyby of the Moon and Earth, which will send the spacecraft to Venus en route to the Jupiter system. The 1.5-minute video shows JUICE approaching the moon and flying over its pitted surface into the darkness of space before the blue hue of Earth appears in the frame.
The Jupiter ICy Satellite Explorer (JUICE) performed the dangerous maneuver on August 19 and 20, using the gravity of the moon and Earth to send it toward Venus. “The gravity-assisted flyby was flawless and everything went smoothly, and we are excited to see JUICE back so close to Earth,” Ignacio Tanco, JUICE spacecraft operations manager, said in a statement.
The footage was captured on two of JUICE’s cameras, which are designed to monitor the spacecraft’s boom and antenna. This Moon-Earth flyby also provided ground control with the opportunity to test JUICE’s scientific instruments, with all “ten instruments turned on during the Moon flyby and eight during the Earth flyby.”
“The timing and location of these two flybys allowed us to thoroughly study the behavior of the Juice instrument,” JUICE operations scientist Claire Vallat said in a statement. “It happens early enough in Juice’s journey that we can use this data to prepare instruments for arrival at Jupiter. Given what we know about the physical properties of the Earth, Moon, and surrounding space environment, it’s also an ideal place to understand how instruments respond to real targets.” .
The spacecraft is on an eight-year journey to Jupiter, exploring its icy moon for signs of habitability. Using the gravitational pull of the moon and Earth, JUICE alters its trajectory by changing its speed and direction. Flying by the moon increases the spacecraft’s speed relative to the sun by 0.5 mi/s (0.9 km/s), guiding the spacecraft toward Earth. After its close encounter with Earth, JUICE’s speed relative to the Sun was reduced by 2.9 miles per second (4.8 kilometers per second), guiding it toward a new orbit around Venus.
The spacecraft will orbit Venus in August 2025 and then return to Earth. After that, JUICE will conduct two more flybys around its home star, one in September 2026 and the other in January 2029. speed to enter the orbit of Jupiter.
JUICE launches in April 2023 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. Just hours after liftoff, the spacecraft captured the first moments of its 12-year mission dedicated to studying Jupiter’s three icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
more: JUICE spacecraft sends farewell photos of Earth as it heads to Jupiter
