One of this year's most important deep space exploration missions, finally flew out smoothly on April 14. This is the 11-year, $1.7 billion Jupiter Ice Explorer.
This epic space exploration mission is expected to set several space records: one of the most important solar system probes launched globally in 2023 (the other being NASA's Spirit Star probe); The most powerful scientific probe launched into the outer solar system in the history of mankind (remote sensing observation, geophysical field); The largest solar panel ever assembled by an interplanetary probe (85 square meters); The first interplanetary probe in history to accelerate gravity with the help of the Earth-Moon system; 2034 will be the first man-made probe to orbit a satellite beyond Earth.
● Penultimate fly
At the French Guiana Space Center 3 launch site in the tropical rainforest area, stands the Ariane 5 ECA rocket, Europe's most powerful launch vehicle. Despite being a disposable consumable, the rocket's clone brothers have a long track record, having launched the famous James Webb Space Telescope, the Bupi Colombo Mercury Probe, the Comet Rosetta probe, the Herschel Space Observatory, the Planck satellite, the Galileo navigation satellite, the ESA autonomous cargo spacecraft ATV, India's most expensive and heaviest satellite, GSAT-11, etc., and has undertaken a total of 115 space deployment missions so far.
The Ariane 5 ECA of this launch: Arrow height 53 meters, diameter 5.4 meters, launch mass 780 tons, low Earth orbit capacity: 16 tons, geosynchronous transfer orbit capacity: 10.865 tons. This model belongs to a heavy launch vehicle, with a capacity comparable to the Falcon 9, Long March 5, Delta IV heavy, Japanese H-IIB, Proton M and so on. Since its first flight on December 11, 2002, this model has been launched 83 times, with 81 successes, a success rate of 97.59%. Launch price range: 165 million ~ 220 million US dollars.
This Ariane 5 ECA rocket is not only the most powerful rocket of Ariane Space in Europe, but also the only active rocket of Ariane 5 (the other four models have been retired), but it is also about to come to an end, this launch is the penultimate flight of the rocket, and the curtain call is scheduled to launch on June 21 this year. It will then be replaced by a cheaper and more powerful successor, the Ariane 6 rocket, which is expected to make its first flight this year.
● Launch process
The first flight was originally planned to be attempted on April 13, but due to unfavorable local weather and strong lightning at the launch site, it was postponed by 24 hours and moved to today, April 14. After a seven-hour preparation process before takeoff, the launch time finally came: at 9:14:29 Guyana time on April 14, that is, 20:14:29 Beijing time on April 14, the Ariane 5 ECA rocket lifted a $1.7 billion JUICE probe, lifted 2.9 million pounds (1,315 tons) of thrust from the rainforest, and then soared eastward.
It reached supersonic speed in less than a minute, and after nearly two and a half minutes of liftoff, two flank rockets were thrown away. T+3 minutes and 9 seconds, the rocket flew to an altitude of about 112 km, abandoning the fairing. T+8 minutes and 44 seconds, the first stage main rocket turned off the engine, then the second stage rocket began to ignite, and after 16 minutes of continuous propulsion, it reached 9.88 km / s (exceeding the first cosmic speed), breaking free from the deep well of Earth's gravity.
T+27 minutes and 45 seconds, that is, at 20:42 Beijing time on April 14, the star arrow separated, and the 5.9-ton JUICE was deployed into the initial orbit (belonging to the heliocentric orbit). About 5 minutes later, the ground control team at the European Space Agency's operations center in Darmstadt, Germany, received its first radio signal from JUICE. This means that the launch deployment is complete.
The launch was the world's first commercial launcher, Ariane Space, the first launch this year, Arianespace's 344th launch in total, the 116th launch since the first flight of the Ariane 5 rocket in 1996, the 83rd launch of the Ariane 5 ECA rocket (the 81st successful launch), and the world's 57th space launch this year.
△ JUICE's 12-year journey to the solar system
● Epic exploration
After entering heliocentric orbit, JUICE (Jupiter's Ice Moons Explorer) embarks on a 12-year journey through the solar system, destined for Jupiter, and especially Europa. But the flight orbit does not fly directly to the outer solar system (Saturn, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, etc. beyond the asteroid belt) and directly to the Jupiter system, but first to the inner solar system (four terrestrial planets and the asteroid belt). The purpose is to accelerate by force (more colloquially: with the help of the gravitational slingshot effect) to fly to the orbit of Jupiter.
Flying by the Earth-Moon system in August 2024, JUICE will be the first interplanetary probe in history to use the Earth-Moon system for gravitational acceleration. And three times in a row over the Earth-Moon system, three times with the help of acceleration.
Venus flew by in August 2025, the second in September 2026, and the last and third in January 2029.
In July 2031, which will be a critical moment for the entire mission, JUICE initiates the main engine ignition program, with the aim of being captured by Jupiter's gravitational field and entering Jupiter's orbit. If this milestone deep-space maneuver is successfully completed, JUICE will begin a deep exploration of the Jupiter system, a miniature version of the solar system, with up to 35 flybys of Europa, Europa and Europa.
The $1.7 billion mission, which is expected to come to an end by the end of 2035, when JUICE runs out of propellant, is scheduled to deorbit and hit Europa to ensure it doesn't contaminate other moons in the Jupiter system and avoid hampering future life-seeking missions.
●JUICE's three exploration goals
(1) Detection of Jupiter's three ice moons (Europa, Europa, Europa; while Io has active volcanoes and is not an ice satellite); (2) detection of the complex environment of the Jupiter system (whether there are conditions for life to survive); (3) Deep exploration studies Jupiter as a classic sample of gas giants.
The full name of the probe in English is Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, literally translated as [Jupiter Ice Moons Explorer], abbreviated as JUICE (both fruit and vegetable juice, but also vitality, influence), this composite connotation is very in line with the taste of Europeans.
● Ice Satellite Discovery Tour
▲ From July 2032, JUICE will fly over Europa twice, the closest distance is only 400 kilometers, the main purpose is to measure the thickness of the ice, trying to find organic molecules and signs of life. Europa has long been considered one of the most promising alien worlds in the solar system with a habitable environment, and scientists have determined that it may have an underground saltwater ocean, which may contain twice as much water as Earth's ocean, and there is a possibility of life.
▲ In 2031~2034, JUICE will also detect Callisto, planning to fly over 21 times, and only 200 kilometers recently. As Jupiter's second-largest moon and our solar system's third-largest, Ganymede's surface is home to the solar system's oldest and hardest-hitting craters.
▲ In December 2034, JUICE will enter the elliptical orbit of Ganymedes (Garnimedes), becoming the first probe to orbit a natural satellite beyond Earth. It is planned to fly over 12 times, and the first orbital altitude is 5,000 kilometers. In 2035, JUICE enters a circular orbit just 500 kilometers from Ganymede's surface.
We know that Ganymede is the solar system's most enchanting natural satellite, not just the kind of charm that exists in science fiction works. The greater charm lies in the reality, Ganymede is not only the largest moon in the solar system, but also the only known moon with a magnetic field, and even found evidence of the existence of deep liquid water. It is especially important to use JUICE's opportunity to visit Europa up close to confirm whether there really is an underground marine world! !️
To this end, JUICE is equipped with 10 scientific detection instruments developed by Europe, the United States and Japan. ESA claims that " this is the most powerful space probe ever flown to the outer solar system, especially in the fields of remote sensing imaging and geophysics."
● JUICE Top 10 equipment
The 5.9-ton JUICE is equipped with ten sophisticated instruments, nine of which are developed by Europe and one supplied by NASA. Also carry an experimental kit: planetary radio interferometer and Doppler experiment (PRIDE), radiation monitor (RADEM).
○ Carry four remote sensing instruments - (1) Optical Camera System (JANUS): detect global, regional, and local geomorphological features of ice satellites and map Jupiter's clouds. (2) Visible and infrared imaging spectroscopy (MAJIS): detects Jupiter's cloud and atmospheric composition, as well as ice and mineral layers on the surface of icy moons. (3) Ultraviolet imaging spectrometer (UVS): provided by NASA, to detect the atmospheric composition and dynamics of ice satellites. (4) Submillimeter spectrometer (SWI): detects the temperature, composition and dynamics of Jupiter's atmosphere. With these remote sensing devices, JUICE not only photographs Jupiter's cloud patterns, Jupiter's rings, and the complex landforms of Europa, Europa, and Europa, but also maps ice shells for three ice moons and creates unprecedented high-resolution maps for Europa.
○JUICE is equipped with three geophysical equipment: (1) Radar Sounder (RIME): Provided by NASA, an ice-penetrating radar probe capable of scanning the internal structure of ice satellites up to 9 kilometers deep. (2) Laser Altimeter (GALA): jointly developed by the German space agency DLR and the Japanese space agency JAXA, it mainly studies the tidal changes of the underground ocean of ice satellites. (3) Radio Science Experiment (3GM): provided by the Italian Space Agency to study the gravitational field of Europa, the underground ocean of three icy satellites, the atmosphere and ionosphere of Jupiter and its moons. These geophysical devices will help scientists explore the ocean world beneath Europa, Europa, and Ganymede's icy shells. A litany of questions is expected: Where are these oceans located? What is the depth below the surface? What is the depth of the ocean? What are the water reserves? What is liquid water composition? ......
○JUICE is equipped with three in-situ test instruments: (1) Magnetometer (J-MAG): uses sensors to detect the interaction of Jupiter's magnetic field with Europa, and study the underground ocean of ice satellites. (2) Particle Environment Package (PEP): Provided by NASA and JAXA, it is used to probe the plasma layer of the Jupiter system. (3) Radio and Plasma Wave Instrumentation (RPWI): JAXA provides the study of the electromagnetic radiation and plasma environment of Jupiter and ice moons.
● JUICE has set many records
This epic space exploration mission will set a number of space records -
○Equipped with the largest solar panel
After launching 99 minutes into orbit, JUICE began to gradually unfold the solar arrays on both sides, each wing arranged in a unique cross-like structure. The wingspan is nearly 89 feet (27.1 meters) wide, and the panel area is 915 square feet (85 square meters), which is equivalent to the size of a two-room or three-room large room for Chinese people. It is the largest solar panel ever built for an interplanetary probe.
The reason why JUICE is equipped with a super large solar array is, of course, to be able to generate enough electricity to supply the detector. You know, Jupiter is about 5 times the distance from the Sun and collects much weaker sunlight than the Earth, so the area of solar panels must be greatly increased. In fact, even with the largest solar array of 85 square meters (23,560 of the most efficient solar panels), by the time Jupiter arrives, it will only produce 850 watts of power. This is equivalent to the heating power of a microwave oven. On Earth, these solar panels can power almost an entire street.
○The strongest probe in the outer solar system
JUICE is equipped with 10 scientific instruments developed by European, American and Japanese research teams. For this reason, ESA proudly declares that "this is the most powerful space probe ever flown to the outer solar system, especially in the field of remote sensing imaging and geophysics."
This is not difficult to understand, because compared to those predecessor-level exosolar system probes that flew early and poorly assembled (such as Pioneer 10 launched in 1972, Pioneer 11 launched in 1973, Voyager 2 and 1 launched in 1977, Galileo launched in 1989, Cassini Huygens launched in 1997, and New Horizons launched in 2006), the latest launch of JUICE has its own late-mover advantage, of course, dare to claim: the strongest probe to fly to the outer solar system. At least for now. However, that is likely to change next year.
Because NASA plans to launch the Europa Clipper probe (Europa Clipper) by SpaceX Heavy Eagle in October 2024, this also well-equipped new generation of Jupiter satellite probe will arrive in Jupiter's orbit a year earlier than the European JUICE probe, that is, April 2030, and JUICE will need July 2031 to fly to Jupiter's orbit.
However, the two major Jupiter missions in Europe and the United States are complementary, with JUICE focusing more on Europa and Europa Clipper mainly studying Europa. After all, this is one of the best candidates for other habitable planets in the solar system. The two detection missions will also share information and data to cross-verify scientific research results.
By the way, only NASA's Juno probe is currently in orbit with Jupiter, launched in 2011 and arrived in Jupiter's orbit in 2016, and has now completed 50 orbital orbits, mainly exploring and studying Jupiter's atmosphere and internal structure, and recently expanding the scope of the mission to make systematic observations of Ganymede, providing effective information for the two Jupiter probes in Europe and the United States that arrived in the 2030s.
At that time, the Europa Clipper and JUICE will become the third and fourth probes orbiting Jupiter in history. The first and second are the pioneer 10 and 11 probes sent by NASA as early as 1973 and 1974.
We who live in the present and look to the future actually pay more attention to the probe JUICE in front of us, and cannot ignore that this epic space exploration mission is setting a number of records: one of the most important solar system probes launched in the world in 2023 (ESA JUICE, NASA Psyche Spirit Star probe scheduled to launch on October 5); The most powerful scientific probe launched into the outer solar system in human history; The largest solar panel ever built for an interplanetary probe; The first interplanetary probe in history to accelerate gravity with the help of the Earth-Moon system; 2034 will be the first artificial probe to orbit a natural satellite beyond Earth...