NASA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is a spacecraft that is bound for distant Jupiter to explore an intriguing collection of worlds and gain a deeper understanding of potential environments for life in our planetary neighbourhood. JUICE will initially spend several years performing fly-bys of Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, examining them up-close. Ganymede is the largest of Jupiter’s moons and the only one known to have its own magnetic field, which creates a unique environment that scientists hope to explore further. While JUICE’s focus will be on the icy worlds around Jupiter, it will also be examining the gas giant itself. JUICE has had to be designed to withstand the radiation environment found at Jupiter, but its biggest challenge came in the form of the global COVID pandemic, which caused international travel and collaborative in-person working to be challenging.
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is set to launch in April 2023, and is expected to arrive at Jupiter and its moons in the summer of 2031. JUICE will conduct flybys of Earth and Venus, and travel across the Solar System to explore the Jovian system. Upon arrival, JUICE will perform multiple flybys of the Galilean moons Callisto, Ganymede and Europa, before settling into orbit around Ganymede in 2034.
JUICE will carry a suite of instruments on board that will allow it to conduct in-depth research of the Jovian system. These include the Gravity and Geophysics of Jupiter and Galilean Moons instrument (3GM), which will study the interior of Ganymede, the Ganymede Laser Altimeter (GALA), which will create a 3D map of the moon’s surface, and the Jupiter and its Moons Imaging Spectrometer (JANUS), which will take high-resolution images of the system.
Other instruments on board include the Jovian Magnetometer (J-MAG), which will measure the magnetic fields of Jupiter and its moons, the Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS), which will analyze the composition of Callisto and Ganymede’s surfaces, and the Particle Environment Package (PEP), which will study the exospheres of Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) instrument will probe the frozen crusts of Ganymede and Callisto, while the Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) will investigate particles bombarding the surface and the wind speeds in Jupiter’s stratosphere. The UV Imaging Spectrograph (UVS) will analyze the aurorae around Jupiter’s poles.
The JUICE mission will be carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) and is one of the few spacecraft to explore the Jovian system. The mission will focus on studying the Galilean moons, with Ganymede being a particular target for exploration. JUICE arrived at the spaceport in French Guiana in February, after years of development.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is a collaborative project between the US and Europe that aims to explore the Jovian system. One of the researchers involved in JUICE is Professor Michele Dougherty, a planetary scientist from Imperial College London. Dougherty has been involved in JUICE’s planning for over 15 years, and is the lead scientist on the magnetometer that JUICE will carry with it to Jupiter. The magnetometer will examine the magnetic fields of the moons Callisto, Ganymede and Europa in unprecedented detail.
The magnetic fields of these moons were previously studied by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which conducted a groundbreaking study of the Jovian system in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Galileo’s magnetic field data hinted at the presence of salty, liquid water oceans beneath the frozen exteriors of these moons. These findings were particularly intriguing as liquid water is linked to habitable environments and life on Earth. Estimates suggest that there may be more water within Ganymede than there is on Earth.
The Galileo spacecraft also captured remarkable images of the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, revealing each satellite to be captivating in its own right. Io’s sulphurous yellow globe is scarred by numerous volcanoes, Europa’s ice crust is riven with immense fissures and fractures, and Ganymede and Callisto are both cratered and frozen.
The JUICE mission will build on the discoveries of the Galileo spacecraft and take the exploration of the Jovian system to new heights. With JUICE’s advanced instruments, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the magnetic fields and surface terrain of the Galilean moons. By doing so, they may uncover new insights into the history and evolution of the Jovian system, as well as the potential for life beyond Earth.
Jupiter’s icy moons have long fascinated scientists due to their potential for harboring life. Recent missions like Cassini, which explored Saturn and its moons, have only fueled interest in these icy satellites. With its upcoming mission, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) aims to deepen our understanding of these worlds and their potential for life.
Equipped with advanced instruments, JUICE will conduct fly-bys of Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, examining them up-close before entering into orbit around the latter in December 2034. It will be in this phase that researchers will gain a deeper understanding of the internal structure of the moon and the nature of the water lying beneath its icy crust. JUICE’s magnetometer, led by Professor Michele Dougherty and her colleagues, will be looking for induction signatures – signs of magnetic fields that arise from electrical currents flowing through the subsurface ocean. These signatures can contain clues to the nature of the ocean itself, such as its depth and salt content.
While Europa will get its own dedicated visitor in the form of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, it’s Ganymede that JUICE has set its sights on. With its 5,260km-wide diameter, Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and may contain more water than Earth. JUICE’s magnetometer will also examine the magnetic fields of Callisto and Europa in unprecedented detail.
The JUICE mission will utilize a variety of instruments to gather data on the Galilean moons, including cameras, a laser altimeter, spectrometers, and instruments for studying the gravity fields of its targets. With this data, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the moons’ surface compositions, magnetic fields, and potential for life.
The mission will be a long one, taking eight years to reach Jupiter after its launch in April 2023. But the potential rewards of exploring these icy worlds are immense. “If we’re searching for habitability, we don’t need to focus on Mars only, we can look further out in our Solar System,” says Dougherty. By studying the Jovian system, we may gain insights into the potential for life beyond our own planet, both within our solar system and in other star systems.
Unravelling the Secrets of Jupiter’s Icy Moons with JUICE Mission
The exploration of the icy worlds around Jupiter has been a fascinating subject for planetary scientists for years. Recent discoveries, including the Cassini mission’s observation of the moon Enceladus and evidence for a liquid water ocean within Titan, have only increased the interest in these icy satellites. The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, set to arrive at Jupiter in 2031, aims to explore these icy worlds in unprecedented detail.
Ganymede: A Moon with Potential for Habitable Environments
JUICE will initially spend several years performing fly-bys of Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, examining them up-close. Among these moons, it is Ganymede that JUICE has set its sights on, as it is the only known moon in the Solar System with its magnetic field.
The spacecraft will enter into orbit around Ganymede in December 2034 and spend around nine months circling the satellite, gathering an extraordinarily rich data set. The onboard hardware includes a laser altimeter, spectrometers, and a magnetometer that can help to understand the internal structure of the moon and the nature of the water lying beneath its icy crust.
The magnetometer will be looking for ‘induction signatures,’ signs of magnetic fields that arise from electrical currents flowing through the subsurface ocean driven by Jupiter’s magnetic field. These signatures can contain clues to the ocean’s nature, such as its depth and salt content. However, the search for these signatures is complicated, as the magnetic fields in the system are constantly varying, making it like trying to find needles in a haystack that are changing shape and color all the time, as described by Professor Michele Dougherty, JUICE’s lead scientist on the magnetometer.
Exploring what lies beneath Ganymede’s surface will be key to helping scientists get insights into worlds far beyond the realm of the Sun. JUICE’s findings could lead to better understanding of many other planets and moons in our Universe, which may have similar internal structures to Ganymede.
Unresolved Questions at Callisto
JUICE will also examine Callisto, which is the odd one out of Jupiter’s icy moons, in that its subsurface structure doesn’t appear to be what planetary scientists call differentiated. There isn’t a solid core, and there aren’t different layers in the interior that we’re almost certain we have at Europa and Ganymede. JUICE will look for answers as it flies by.
JUICE’s Observations of Jupiter
While JUICE’s focus will be on the icy worlds around Jupiter, it will also be examining the gas giant itself. JUICE’s orbit around the planet will help it get detailed observations of the giant world of seething clouds and swirling storms.
JUICE’s scientific instrumentation turns the dial to 11 compared to the capabilities of previous spacecraft. One of the scientific instruments is the Sub-millimeter Wave Instrument, capable of observing the planet at sub-millimeter wavelengths of light. This allows scientists to directly measure the winds and circulation high in the stratosphere, a feat that no previous mission has ever accomplished.
Designed to Withstand the Radiation Environment at Jupiter
To survive the years-long adventure, JUICE has been designed to withstand the radiation environment found at Jupiter. JUICE will play a crucial role in our understanding of the icy moons and Jupiter itself, providing valuable insights into the nature of these worlds and their potential for habitable environments.
JUICE’s Journey to Jupiter
The upcoming JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in 2031, will explore the gas giant and its moons. With its focus on icy moons, JUICE will be able to gather an extraordinary amount of data on Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede.
Searching for Life Beyond Earth
JUICE’s mission is to help scientists gain insights into potential environments for life beyond our planet. Ganymede, for instance, offers a unique opportunity to understand other worlds in our universe and how they formed. JUICE will explore what lies beneath Ganymede’s surface to understand other moons with similar internal structures.
Challenges Faced by JUICE Mission
The COVID pandemic posed the biggest challenge for JUICE’s mission. The project required thousands of people worldwide to work together to bring together various components for the instrumentation of JUICE, a feat that was achieved despite the travel and collaborative restrictions.
Probing the Oceans of Icy Moons
JUICE will examine Jupiter’s icy moons, where there are large bodies of liquid water either present or strongly suspected. The heating of these moons is thought to be caused by the gravitational push and pull between themselves and the giant planet, a process that warms them through friction. This heating is likely what’s keeping the interior oceans liquid beneath their icy crusts.
Could Microbes Be Surviving in the Depths of Jovian Moons?
JUICE’s mission will also help answer the question of whether microbial life exists in the depths of these Jovian moons. While JUICE may not be able to provide a definitive answer, it offers a great opportunity to begin exploring the potential for extraterrestrial life.
JUICE will have to withstand the radiation environment found at Jupiter. But with its advanced instrumentation and its journey to explore the depths of Jovian moons, JUICE’s mission offers great potential for exciting discoveries in our search for life beyond Earth.
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