DLR - German Aerospace Research Establishment
DLR - German Aerospace Research Establishment
14/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 14/08/2024 22:46
JUICE space probe flies past the moon and Earth
19-20 August 2024: JUICE's braking manoeuvre around the Moon and Earth
On 19 August 2024, the JUICE (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer) space probe will perform a flyby of the Moon followed by a flyby of Earth the next day, as part of its journey to Jupiter. The purpose of the two close flybys is to slow the space probe down and steer it into an orbit towards the inner Solar System. A 'gravity assist manoeuvre' like this, using the Moon and Earth, has never been performed before. Since its launch in April 2023, JUICE has already travelled over one billion kilometres, and after the two flybys the spacecraft will be accelerated with a similar manoeuvre around Venus in August 2025, followed by two close flybys of Earth in September 2026 and January 2029. Accelerated in this way, JUICE will leave the inner Solar System and reach its destination in July 2031.