JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)

Mission Profile

Prime Contractors

Companies that built, launched, or operate this mission. Tickers link to their investor profile.

• AIR.PAAirbus Defence & Space
• Arianespace
• LDO.MILeonardo
• Thales Alenia Space

Overview

JUICE is the European Space Agency's flagship mission to the Jovian system, the first European mission to the outer Solar System and the first ever to orbit a moon other than Earth's. Launched on the penultimate Ariane 5 from Kourou on 14 April 2023, JUICE is on an eight-year cruise that includes the first-ever Earth-Moon gravity-assist (executed flawlessly in August 2024) and a Venus flyby in August 2025. After Jupiter arrival in July 2031, JUICE will spend three and a half years observing the planet and conducting flybys of three of its four large icy moons — Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede — before settling into orbit around Ganymede in late 2034 for a nine-month dedicated study. Ganymede is the only moon in the Solar System with its own intrinsic magnetic field, and like Europa it is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean, making it a prime astrobiology target. JUICE carries 10 instruments built by a consortium of European and partner institutes, including a magnetometer (J-MAG), particle environment package (PEP), submillimeter wave instrument (SWI), Ganymede laser altimeter (GALA), and ice-penetrating radar (RIME). The mission is led by Airbus Defence and Space, with NASA and JAXA contributing instruments and ground tracking support.

Key Milestones

1. 2012-05-02

   ESA selects JUICE as first L-class mission of Cosmic Vision

2. 2023-04-14

   Launch on Ariane 5 from Kourou, French Guiana

3. 2024-08-19

   Earth-Moon gravity assist (world first)

4. 2025-08-31

   Venus gravity-assist flyby

5. 2031-07-21

   Planned Jupiter Orbit Insertion

6. 2034-12-01

   Planned Ganymede Orbit Insertion (world first)

Related Missions

Sources

1. ESA — JUICE
2. ESA Science — JUICE Mission