Juice Spacecraft to Use Earth Gravity Assist on Path to Jupiter
The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, will pass just under 5,400 miles above Earth on Monday as part of a gravity-assist maneuver. The spacecraft, launched in 2023, has already used flybys of Earth, the moon, and Venus to adjust its trajectory and speed, and it will make another Earth flyby in 2029 before reaching Jupiter in 2031. During this pass, Juice will collect data and images of Earth and measure its magnetic field.
Juice, the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, launched in 2023 and is now returning near Earth for a gravity assist. On Monday it will pass less than 5,400 miles above the planet, moving at roughly 24,600 miles per hour. Earlier flybys of Earth and the moon in 2024 and Venus in 2025 helped reshape its route.
After another Earth pass in 2029, the craft should arrive at Jupiter in 2031. There it is planned to make 35 flybys of icy moons, studying possible subsurface oceans and Ganymede’s magnetic field. During Monday’s visit, it will gather Earth data, images, and magnetic-field measurements.
This flyby may mainly affect scientists, space engineers, and publics following planetary exploration. Data and images could improve understanding of Earth’s magnetic environment and demonstrate reusable gravity-assist techniques, potentially informing future missions. For broader society, successful operations may sustain interest in space science and international collaboration, though immediate everyday effects are likely limited.