Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, April 6 (Xinhua) the European Space Agency (ESA) Jupiter probe JUICE (Jupiter Ice Moon Explorer) is scheduled to launch on board an Ariana 5 VA260 rocket from the European spaceport in Kuru, French Guiana, at 20:15 on April 13. There is still a week left.

▲ photo source: ESAJUICE was developed by the European Aeronautics and Space Agency and built by Airbus. ESA previously signed contracts of $374 million (CTOnews.com Note: about 2.573 billion yuan) with Airbus, France's Therese-Alenia Aerospace and Germany's OHB SE.

Jupiter is more than 600 million kilometers from Earth, and JUICE will take 7.5 years to reach the target, aiming to detect Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The probe will study the ice crust and compound composition on the satellite's surface, as well as Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetic field to investigate whether there are areas suitable for life.

The spacecraft will travel a total of 2 billion kilometers and will "drift" along the way using the gravity of Earth (and then Venus). It is said that this will be "the first time that the European Space Agency has entered the solar system so deeply, and it will also be the first time that it has orbited another planetary satellite."

From Jupiter's orbit, the moon will fly over Europa, Ganymede and Callisto 35 times. Then it will enter the orbit of Ganymede, the largest of the three, and eventually fall to its surface.

Many astrobiologists see Europa as one of the most suitable places for extraterrestrial life in the solar system, in part because the moon's oceans seem to be in contact with its rocky core, making it possible for complex chemical reactions. By contrast, the buried oceans of Ganymede and Callisto seem to be sandwiched between the ice.

"the mission will describe these moons as planetary bodies and potential habitats, delve deeper into Jupiter's complex environment and study the broader Jupiter system as prototypes of gaseous giant planets throughout the universe," ESA said. "

The 6-ton spacecraft will carry 10 scientific instruments, including ice-permeable cameras, sensors, spectrometers and radar, as well as antennas 2.5 meters in diameter and 85-inch solar panels, which is by far the largest solar panel in a starship.

As a memorial, scientists installed a plaque on the back of the spacecraft in memory of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who first discovered Jupiter and its largest moon in 1610.

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