Arriving at Jupiter in July 2031, ESA JUICE was successfully launched on an Ariane 5 rocket.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen grass Luo Yuzi for the clue delivery! CTOnews.com, April 15 (Xinhua)-- the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a press release today that the Jupiter Ice Moon probe (JUICE) was successfully launched on the Ariana-5 carrier rocket (Ariane 5).

ESA had planned to launch the JUICE on Thursday, but it was delayed until Friday because of bad weather. CTOnews.com learned from reports that the spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in July 2031 and work in the Jupiter system until September 2035.

JUICE is the European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter satellite probe. Its goal is 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.

It will take JUICE nearly eight years to reach Jupiter, during which time it will make several leaps over Venus and Earth, using their gravitational slingshots to fly out of the solar system. 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.