The projected launch date is less than a year away, and the final phases of the mission are almost complete. The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer has all the instruments integrated into the bus. All-up testing is done in a full flight configuration.
The mission will conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter and its system of moons, focusing on Callisto and especially Ganymede.
The spacecraft is ready for the test campaign to verify that everything works as expected.
The goal of the Cosmic Vision program is to help scientists figure out what conditions are best for life in our solar system and the universe.
Jupiter and its moons are very similar to a solar system. Scientists hope to learn more about the icy worlds around Jupiter and the origins and possibility of life in our Universe by studying the Jupiter system. This should shed light on how life might develop in Jupiter-like exoplanetary systems.
It will take eight years to reach the Jupiter system. Once there, the current mission timeline expects the spacecraft to operate for at least three years.
The fly-bys of Callisto and Europa will be used to conduct a more in-depth analysis. This will be the first time that a space craft will fly over an outer Solar System moon.
A suite of ten science instruments will help map out the surfaces of the three moons, as well as give a glimpse into their icy interiors and oceans.
The only moon in the Solar System that has a magnetic field will be mapped out. The chemicals of life, and organic materials that could be on the surface, will be searched for by Juicing. The radar system will measure the depth of the ocean.
Baroni said that humanity always poses these questions. Is there any life outside of Earth? Is there a place where life can be sustained? One of the main objectives for Juice is to find out if there are conditions to sustain life on the ocean worlds of Europa and Ganymede.
There will be more updates as JUICE prepares for launch. The science objectives of the mission can be read here.
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