This Mission Will Explore Jupiter’s Icy Moons for Alien Life
If life is truly out there, there’s a good chance it’s on one of Jupiter’s moons. That’s why the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a new probe on Friday morning—sending it en route for an eight year road trip to the gas giant where it’ll take a closer look at the planet and its moons.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission (also known as Juice) launched this morning from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket. Within half an hour, the probe separated from the rocket and was yeeted towards Jupiter, where it’s slated to arrive in roughly eight years (remember: the solar system is big). During this time, it’ll rely on gravitational slingshots from Earth and Venus to yeet it all the way to the gas giant.
“Juice’s spectacular launch carries with it the vision and ambition of those who conceived the mission decades ago, the skill and passion of everyone who has built this incredible machine, the drive of our flight operations team, and the curiosity of the global science community,” Josef Aschbacher, the head of the ESA, said in a statement. “Together, we will keep pushing the boundaries of science and exploration in order to answer humankind’s biggest questions.”
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