Science
ESA's Juice Spacecraft Swings Past Earth for a Free Speed Boost to Jupiter
A spacecraft the size of a small bus is about to borrow Earth's own gravity for a shove toward Jupiter, skipping the fuel tank entirely. On 28 September, ESA's Juice probe makes its third such flyby on the way to the icy moons.
2031Year Juice is expected to arrive at Jupiter
The facts
- 1ESA's Juice spacecraft will fly close past Earth on 28 September 2026 for its third gravity assist maneuver toward Jupiter.
- 2A gravity assist lets flight controllers use a planet's own momentum to bend or speed up a spacecraft's path without burning propellant.
- 3This flyby follows Juice's earlier assists at the Moon, Earth, and Venus, each one reshaping its long looping route through the solar system.
- 4The maneuver keeps Juice on track to reach Jupiter around 2031, where it will study the icy moons Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.
- 5Without these planetary slingshots, reaching Jupiter would demand a far heavier spacecraft and a much larger, costlier rocket.
Why it matters
Gravity assists let space agencies reach distant planets on tighter budgets, making ambitious missions like Juice's search for hidden oceans under icy moons financially possible.
Sources
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- NASA
