JUICE

JUICE is a European space probe on its way to Jupiter. It is to be the first to orbit a moon of another planet: Ganymede.

Fact file

JUICE is the Jupiter mission of the European Space Agency ESA – the name stands for “JUpiter ICy moons Explorer”.
It is set to be the first probe to orbit a moon other than our own: Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System.
Swiss researchers are involved too: the University of Bern helped build an instrument that studies the moons' thin envelopes of gas.

The mission began on 14 April 2023.

JUICE visited Venus and Jupiter. All milestones with their dates are listed further down this page.

An ESA mission, launched in 2023 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou.

On its way, in 2024, it became the first probe to gain speed at the Moon AND Earth in quick succession.

It studies Ganymede, Callisto and Europa and searches for oceans beneath their layers of ice.

Its solar panels cover 85 m² – as much as a three-room flat – because only a little sunlight reaches Jupiter.

14 April 2023Launch at Earth
Launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou (French Guiana).
20 August 2024Moon and Earth at Earth
First double swing-by of the Moon and Earth – a world first.
31 August 2025Venus at Venus
Swing-by of Venus.
29 September 2026Earth at Earth
Swing-by of Earth.
18 January 2029Earth (again) at Earth
Last swing-by of Earth (planned).
15 July 2031Arrival at Jupiter at Jupiter
Entering orbit around Jupiter (planned).
15 December 2034Around Ganymede
JUICE is set to be the first probe to orbit a moon other than our own: Ganymede (planned).