European Jupiter probe JUICE misses 1 second launch window due to lightning risk and will fight again tomorrow.
CTOnews.com, April 13 (Xinhua)-- European Jupiter probe JUICE was scheduled to launch tonight (April 13) from the Kuru Space Center in French Guiana, but the launch was delayed at least a day due to lightning risks near the launch site. Launch company Arianespace said it would try again on Friday (April 14) at 8:14 EDT (20:14 Beijing time).
An animation depicting an European JUICE spacecraft approaching Jupiter's moon Ganymede. (photo source: ESA / ATG MediaLab) JUICE is the European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter satellite probe, which aims to explore Jupiter's three main moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. This launch is something special because JUICE needs a rocket to put it into a very precise solar orbit so that it can return to Earth next year and use the gravity of both Earth and the moon to help it accelerate and fly to Jupiter. To achieve this, the mission has only an one-second launch window. Fortunately, there is an one-second launch window every day until the end of this month. If the spacecraft fails to launch in April, the next available period will open in four months, that is, August 2023.
JUICE will be launched on an European Ariana 5 rocket, another mission after the rocket successfully launched the high-profile James Webb Space Telescope in December last year. The launch was so accurate that the telescope did not need to correct its orbit with its own fuel, which meant that the Weber telescope could run longer than planned.
It will take JUICE nearly eight years to reach Jupiter, during which time it will make several flyovers over Venus and Earth, flying out of the solar system with their gravitational slingshots. JUICE's main scientific goal is Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, and the largest moon in the solar system. If all goes well, the probe will enter Ganymede's orbit three years after arriving at Jupiter. At that time, the JUICE will become the first spacecraft in history to orbit a satellite other than Earth.
According to CTOnews.com, the JUICE probe will study the ice crust and compound composition on the satellite's surface, and detect Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetic field to investigate whether there are areas suitable for life.
