ESA’s JUICE probe aces Moon flyby, to zoom past Earth on Tuesday

New Delhi, Aug 20
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) has successfully completed its flyby of the moon and on Tuesday it is expected to zoom past the Earth, marking a double-first in space history.

“ESAJuice has just passed its closest point to the surface of the Moon! The spacecraft zipped by at just 750km from its surface,” ESA said in a post on X.com on Tuesday.

The spacecraft flew past the Moon at 23.30 CEST on August 19 (3:00 am IST, August 20). During the flyby, for 31 minutes communication was lost with the spacecraft as it passed behind the Moon as seen from Earth.

Communication with the JUICE probe was “restored as the spacecraft reemerged from behind the Moon”, the ESA said.

The probe also shared “raw images”, which will be published by the ESA later.

The Earth flyby is expected to take place at 23:57 CEST on August 20 (3:27 am IST, August 21).

The lunar-Earth flyby marks the beginning of JUICE's spacecraft's voyage from Earth to Jupiter after its launch in April 2023.

“This 'braking' manoeuvre will then take JUICE on a shortcut to Jupiter via Venus, with JUICE finally reaching Jupiter in the year 2031,” the ESA said. This will also change JUICE’s speed and direction to alter its course through space.

Jupiter is 800 million kilometres away from Earth on average. It would be impossible to send JUICE directly to Jupiter without a massive rocket, requiring 60,000 kg of onboard propellant.

JUICE is utilising the gravity of other planets to modify its course to make sure it reaches Jupiter with the proper speed and orientation because it would require more propellant to slow down sufficiently to enter an orbit around Jupiter.