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EI2GYB > ASTRO 16.04.23 12:00l 78 Lines 4675 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 13120_EI2GYB
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Subj: Mission launches to assess chance of life on Jupiter's moon
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Sent: 230416/0945Z 13120@EI2GYB.DGL.IRL.EURO LinBPQ6.0.23
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Mission launches to assess chance of life on Jupiter's moons - when will it reach the planet?
By Jamie Marshall
14 April 2023, 13:48
A European spacecraft has embarked on a mission headed for Jupiter to explore whether its ocean-bearing moons can support life.
The six-tonne probe, named Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), will be heading towards the solar system's biggest planet carrying 10 scientific instruments, in what is the European Space Agency's (ESA) biggest deep-space mission yet.
The initial launch was scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Juice lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket on Friday at 13:15 UK time from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Justin Byrne, head of science for Airbus and the mission's lead contractor, told the PA news agency: "After more than 10 years developing this pioneering spacecraft, we're all going to be crossing our fingers that things go smoothly and that this amazing mission will finally be on its way."
Called J-MAG, it will measure the characteristics of magnetic fields of Jupiter and Ganymede - the only moon known to produce its own magnetic field.
Dr Caroline Harper, head of space science at the UK Space Agency, told PA: "The launch of Juice marks years of hard work and collaboration by scientists, engineers and space agencies all over the world, but the journey is far from over.
"We look forward to following the spacecraft as it makes its eight-year trip to Jupiter and then as it studies the planet and its moons, using specialised UK-developed science instruments.
What is the aim of the mission?
Beneath the ice crust of Europa is thought to lie a huge ocean of liquid water, containing twice as much water as Earth's oceans combined.
But scientists are more interested in Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, which is thought to have a salty ocean beneath its icy shell.
One of Juice's key goals is to explore this body of water and determine whether this world may be habitable.
Data gathered from the J-MAG instrument will help characterise the depth and salt content of Ganymede's ocean.
Dr Harper told the BBC's Today programme: "Where there's water, there is the potential for life.
And now we need to go and have a dedicated up-close survey to confirm whether that saltwater ocean exists and then to assess whether the conditions for life could exist under the ice."
Juice has been built to withstand harsh radiation and extreme conditions, ranging from 250C around Venus to minus 230C near Jupiter.
Sensitive electronics are protected inside a pair of lead-lined vaults within the body of the spacecraft.
How long will the mission take?
If all goes well, Juice should reach Jupiter in July 2031 and will have enough fuel to make 35 flybys of the icy moons before orbiting Ganymede from December 2034.
Once the spacecraft runs out of fuel, Juice will perform a controlled crash into Ganymede, marking the end of the œ14 billion mission.
Dr Harper told the BBC's Today: "We've done everything we can everything's been tested and retested and then tested again, to assure us that it will all work.
"But it's a very ambitious mission and we'll be very glad when in eight years' time, we finally start downloading data."
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