Has any living object ever survived on Jupiter? Is it a possibility?
These are among the questions the European Space Agency (ESA) is hoping to answer with its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) satellite.
The ESA project team behind JUICE held a major review this week, concluding the mission was "go for launch".
Aerospace company Airbus spearheaded the construction of the €1.6 billion ($2.5 billion) spacecraft.
Everything is now fully assembled, including JUICE's suite of 10 scientific instruments.
JUICE is currently undergoing final testing in Toulouse, France.
After this, it will be shipped to the launch site in French Guiana, South America.
The spacecraft will study and make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
The mission will explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe.
According to the ESA, JUICE will explore the secrets of Jupiter and tackle five key mysteries:
- 1.What are Jupiter’s ocean worlds like?
- 2.Why is Ganymede so unique?
- 3.Could there be – or has there ever been – life in the Jupiter system?
- 4.How has Jupiter’s complex environment shaped its moons, and vice versa?
- 5.What is a typical gas giant planet like – how did it form, and does it work?
JUICE is scheduled to launch in April and will reach Jupiter in July 2031.
Although there are contributions from NASA and the Japanese agency, JASA, JUICE is primarily a European mission.
