Galileo tribute unveiled as Juice says ‘Farewell, Europe’

As a part of the ultimate preparations a commemorative plaque was mounted on the spacecraft as a tribute to Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei who was the primary to view Jupiter and its 4 largest moons by way of a telescope in January 1610. His commentary that the moons modified place from evening to nighttime overturned the long-held concept that every thing within the heavens revolved round Earth. The moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – had been to turn out to be collectively often called the Galilean satellites in his honour.

The plaque, which replicates several pages of Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius the place he describes his observations of the moons, was unveiled at Airbus Toulouse on 20 January. Following the occasion, the spacecraft shall be packed for its transatlantic flight to French Guiana the place it will likely be readied for launch on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport.

“Unveiling the plaque is a good looking second on this intense chapter making ready the spacecraft for launch,” says Giuseppe Sarri, ESA’s Juice challenge supervisor. “It’s not solely a possibility to pause and replicate on the decades-long onerous work that has gone into conceiving, constructing and testing the spacecraft, but in addition to rejoice the curiosity and marvel of everybody who’s ever gazed up at Jupiter within the evening sky and contemplated our origins – the inspiration behind this mission.

Answering humankind’s huge questions

Three of Jupiter’s largest moons – Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – maintain huge portions of water buried beneath their surfaces in volumes far larger than in Earth’s oceans. These planet-sized moons supply us tantalising hints that situations for all times might exist aside from right here on our pale blue dot, orbiting large planets as an alternative of sizzling stars. Jupiter and its household of enormous moons signify an archetype for big gasoline planet methods throughout the Universe and as such are a number of the most compelling locations in our Photo voltaic System.

ESA and its worldwide companions are virtually able to ship Juice on its quest to discover this fascinating planet and intriguing moons. With its suite of highly effective devices, Juice will see Jupiter and its moons in a method that Galileo couldn’t even have dreamt of. The information returned by the spacecraft will serve many future generations of scientists decided to uncover the mysteries of the jovian system and its place within the evolution of our Photo voltaic System.

“With Juice’s departure for the launch website quick approaching, we bear in mind its lengthy Earthly journey by way of numerous Airbus websites in Europe in direction of last integration and greater than 500 Airbus workers who ready the spacecraft for its eight-year cruise,” says Cyril Cavel, Juice Mission Supervisor at Airbus Defence and Area. “It has been an unimaginable journey, together with greater than 80 corporations throughout Europe, to deliver ESA’s imaginative and prescient to life and in the end research Jupiter and its icy moons in-depth.

A trio of milestones

Three essential milestones have been concluded within the final weeks alone. In December the spacecraft accomplished a last thermal vacuum take a look at wanted to substantiate it’s prepared for the cruel temperatures inflicted by the area setting.

Final week a last ‘System Validation Take a look at’ noticed the spacecraft – sitting in Toulouse –‘plugged in’ to mission management at ESA’s Area Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, to simulate the primary actions after launch when Juice’s numerous arrays, booms and appendages will unfold, with the ultimate model of the flight software program

Lastly, and most critically, on 18 January the Qualification and Acceptance Evaluate confirmed readiness to maneuver ahead with launch preparations on the Spaceport.

Juice will carry off on an Ariane 5 in April – the final ESA mission to fly on this launcher earlier than Ariane 6 takes over.

Making ready for a treacherous journey

In parallel, whereas Juice strikes to the Spaceport, a robust focus of actions stays centred at ESA’s ESOC mission management centre in Germany. The flight management groups will ramp up their coaching for launch and early operations in a sequence of 16 intensive multi-day simulations.

“That is the most important deep-space mission we have ever launched, and it must nimbly orbit the moons of the biggest planet within the Photo voltaic System utilizing at least 35 flybys,” explains Andrea Accomazzo, Flight Operations Director for the mission.

“Juice’s exploration of Jupiter and its moons would require us to carry out a decade of operations we have by no means executed earlier than, and loads might go mistaken. In these weeks of simulations, we’ll have each attainable downside thrown at us, in order that we are able to deal with any scenario in area.”

Following launch, Juice will fly an eight-year course by way of the Photo voltaic System, its path punctuated with gravity assists of Earth and Venus to slingshot it out to Jupiter.

Relying on the precise day it launches – and so relying on the geometry of the Photo voltaic System on that day – Juice might carry out the first-ever lunar-Earth gravity assist. This could see the mission carry out a flyby of the Moon and only a day later a flyby of Earth.

As soon as it arrives within the Jupiter system Juice will face a harsh radiation and temperature setting, a whole bunch of tens of millions of kilometres from Earth, with a purpose to collect information that can uncover the mysteries of the planet’s advanced setting and ocean-bearing moons.  

To fly such a posh path from such an unlimited distance – and vitally, to get Juice’s information house – would require excessive navigation strategies, reliant on ESA’s Estrack community of deep area antennas in Spain, Argentina and Australia, managed remotely from ESOC.

The spacecraft, floor assist tools and personnel will arrive on the Spaceport early February for the intensive launch website preparations, culminating in launch this April.

Notes for editors:
The plaque options imagery of Galileo Galilei’s first observations of Jupiter and its moons from a duplicate of the Sidereus Nuncius hosted within the library of the Astronomical and Copernican Museum, on the headquarters of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Rome, Italy. The copy is without doubt one of the first 550 ever printed in 1610 in Venice.

Photographs of the plaque unveiling and spacecraft as seen at Airbus Toulouse in the present day can be found via ESA’s image library

A brand new choice of animations depicting Juice’s Photo voltaic System flybys and flybys within the jovian system can be found through ESA’s video library

A ‘Area Juice’ competitors is at present open, inviting individuals to create a Juice mission themed drink! See www.esa.int/spacejuice for particulars – contest closes 31 January.

For extra info, please contact:
ESA Media Relations
media@esa.int

About Juice

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, is humankind’s subsequent daring mission to the outer Photo voltaic System. It can make detailed observations of gasoline large Jupiter and its three giant ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. This formidable mission will characterise these moons with a strong suite of distant sensing, geophysical and in situ devices to find extra about these compelling locations as potential habitats for previous or current life. Juice will monitor Jupiter’s advanced magnetic, radiation and plasma setting in depth and its interaction with the moons, learning the Jupiter system as an archetype for gasoline large methods throughout the Universe.  

Juice launches on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou in April 2023. It has an eight 12 months cruise with flybys of Earth and Venus to slingshot it to Jupiter. It can make 35 flybys of the three giant moons whereas orbiting Jupiter, earlier than altering orbits to Ganymede.

Juice is a mission beneath ESA management with contributions from NASA, JAXA and the Israeli Area Company. It’s the first Massive-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Imaginative and prescient programme.