The European Space Agency's JUICE spacecraft is to blast off Thursday on an eight-year journey through the Solar System to discover whether Jupiter's icy moons are capable of hosting extraterrestrial life in their vast, hidden oceans.
for its scheduled launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 1215 GMT.are good," Guiana Space Center director Marie-Anne Clair said on Wednesday in the control room, where Belgium's King Philippe was among those in attendance.
Because the spacecraft lacks the power to fly straight towards Jupiter, it will have to slingshot around other planets to get a gravitational boost. Once the probe arrives at Jupiter in 2031—now with two billion kilometers on the odometer—it will need to very carefully hit the brakes to enter the orbit of the gas giant.
The mission will not be able to directly detect the existence of alien life, but instead aims to establish whether the moons have the right conditions to harbor life.First discovered by astronomer Galileo Galilei more than 400 years ago, Jupiter's icy moons were long ignored as potential candidates for hosting life.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How to watch the launch of Europe's JUICE mission to Jupiter on April 13Europe's Ariane 5 rocket will have only one second to lift off at 8:15 EDT on Thursday, April 13.
Read more »
Europe's JUICE Jupiter mission rolls out to pad for April 13 launch (photos)The launch will be the penultimate flight for Europe's Ariane 5 rocket.
Read more »
JUICE spacecraft bound for Jupiter moons set for launch this weekA European spacecraft designed to study Jupiter and three of its most intriguing moons is set for launch Thursday.
Read more »
The JUICE mission to explore Jupiter’s ocean moons is about to launchJupiter’s icy moons are thought to host buried oceans that could have the right conditions for life, and the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission is about to go find out if they do
Read more »
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission: How To Follow the Juice Launch LiveESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, Juice, is planned for launch at 8:15 a.m. EDT (13:15 BST/14:15 CEST) on April 13 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Here’s how to follow the key milestones online. (All time in EDT.) Watch live from 7:45 a.m. on April 13. Tune into ESA Web TV dir
Read more »
What JUICE is hoping to learn about Jupiter's icy moons | Digital TrendsTomorrow sees the launch of the JUICE spacecraft, which will travel to the Jupiter system to investigate whether the moons there could be potentially habitable.
Read more »