ESA’s Juice spacecraft carried out a vital maneuver to line up for an Earth-Moon gravity help in 2024, part of its eight-year objective toJupiter The maneuver is an essential action in a fuel-efficient trajectory that consists of more planetary flybys, intending to research study Jupiter’s moons upon arrival in2031 This illustration portrays ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) approachingEarth Credit: ESA/Lightcurve Films/ R. Andres
On November 17, 2023, ESA’s Juice spacecraft performed among the biggest and crucial maneuvers in its eight-year journey to < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Jupiter</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth planet from the sun. It is a gas giant with a mass greater then all of the other planets combined. Its name comes from the Roman god Jupiter.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" >Jupiter
Using its primary engine,Juice altered its orbit around theSun to put itself on the appropriate trajectory for next summertime’sEarth-Moon double gravity help– the very first of its kind.
The maneuver lasted43 minutes and burned nearly10% of the spacecraft’s whole fuel reserve.It’s the very first part of a two-part maneuver that might mark the last time thatJuice’s primary engine is utilized up until its arrival in theJupiter system in2031
Mission toJupiterPicksUpSpeed
ESA’sJupiterIcyMoonsExplorer(Juice) released fromEurope’s spaceport inFrenchGuiana onApril14,2023
It’s on an objective to make in-depth observations of the huge gas world and its 3 big, ocean-bearing moons–Ganymede,Callisto, andEuropa
ButJuice will not start its examinations into the nature and possible habitability of theJupiter system up until its arrival in2031
Propulsion: lift-off, orbit modifications, and taking a trip through areaCredit: ESA/S.Berna
Why does it take so long to get toJupiter?Well, the brief response is that it has less to do with the range in betweenEarth and(***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** )and more to do with combating the(************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* )’s enormous gravitational pull as you venture outwards through the Solar System.
Missions to the huge gas worlds, such as Juice, Europa Clipper, Galileo, or Juno, would be bit more than huge fuel tanks if they needed to save all the energy required to get rid of the Sun’s gravity on their own.
Instead, they use ‘gravity-assist’ or ‘flyby’ maneuvers to get energy by swinging through the strong gravitational fields of different worlds en route.
Shooting for the Moon
Juice’s very first increase will originate from its home world, when it goes back to Earth in August 2024, more than one year after launch.
In truth, in a first-of-its-kind flyby, Juice will initially go by the Moon to provide it an additional kick and make the flyby of Earth that happens 1.5 days later on much more reliable.
Simulation of Juice’s Lunar-Earth GravityAssist Credit: ESA/Lightcurve Films/ R. Andres
But even with this additional increase, to get the most out of the gravity help, Juice needs to reach the Earth-Moon system at exactly the appropriate time, at the appropriate speed, and taking a trip in the appropriate instructions.
That’s where today’s maneuver is available in.
On November 17, at 16: 10 (CET), Juice’s primary engine carried out a burn that lasted approximately 43 minutes.
“This maneuver used up roughly 363 kg of fuel – or almost exactly 10% of the 3650kg of fuel that Juice launched with,” states Julia Schwartz, Flight Dynamics Engineer at ESA’s ESOC objective control center in Germany.
This is Juice’s biggest manoeuvre up until now. Until today, Juice had actually just utilized approximately 10 kg of fuel– primarily as part of a series of brief burns utilized to assist release its stuck RIME antenna.
“It was the first part of a two-part maneuver to put Juice on the correct trajectory for next summer’s encounter with Earth and the Moon. This first burn did 95% of the work, changing Juice’s velocity by almost 200 m/s,” includes Julia.
“Juice is one of the heaviest interplanetary spacecraft ever launched, with a total mass of around 6000 kg, so it took a lot of force and a lot of fuel to achieve this.”
“In a few weeks, once we’ve analyzed Juice’s new orbit, we will carry out the second, much smaller second part of the maneuver. Splitting the maneuver into two parts allows us to use the second firing of the engine to iron out any inaccuracies of the first.”
An extra, much smaller sized maneuver utilizing Juice’s smaller sized thrusters might be performed in May 2024 for the last fine-tuning throughout the technique to Earth.
Juice maneuver lines it up for the 2024 Earth-Moon flyby. Credit: ESA
Last usage of the primary engine up until 2031
For an objective on an eight-year journey, burning 10% of your fuel reserve in simply 43 minutes might appear insane. But investing all that fuel now will settle for several years to come.
“If all goes well with both parts of this maneuver, we likely won’t need to use the main engine again until we enter orbit around Jupiter in 2031,” states Ignacio Tanco, Juice Spacecraft OperationsManager “For small trajectory corrections between now and then, we will use Juice’s smaller thrusters.”
But that does not suggest absolutely nothing intriguing will occur in between now and Juice’s arrival atJupiter Quite the opposite, the journey is intriguing due to the fact that it enables Juice to get all the method to Jupiter without shooting of its primary engine once again, lowering the quantity of fuel the spacecraft requires and permitting it to be loaded loaded with clinical instruments.
Juice will begin its science objective about 6 months prior to going into orbit around Jupiter in 2031, making observations as it approaches its location. It makes a very first flyby of Ganymede a couple of hours before Jupiter orbit insertion. Once in the Jovian system and in orbit around Jupiter, a series of more gravity-assist flybys Ganymede will assist Juice decrease its orbital energy as required. Credit: ESA/Lightcurve Films/ R. Andres
After the Earth-Moon double flyby of 2024 (referred to as a Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist; LEGA), Juice will initially make one flyby of < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Venus</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Venus, the second planet from the sun, is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the moon, it is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky. Its rotation (243 Earth days) takes longer than its orbit of the Sun (224.7 Earth days). It is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar composition, size, mass, and proximity to the Sun. It has no natural satellites.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" >Venus in2025 and 2 more flybys ofEarth in2026 and2029( both without the extra increase from theMoon).
“Today’s maneuver will ensure Juice arrives at the Earth-Moon system at the right time next year for the double flyby,” includesIgnacio
“And, thanks to the clever trajectory designed by our Mission Analysis team, that flyby will line it up almost perfectly for all of the others, without us having to fire the main engine again.”
(*************** )With each flyby, the spacecraft will get more energy than might be accomplished by burning a sensible quantity of fuel– energy that will assist it climb up towardsJupiter versus the pull of theSun’s gravity.
On its journey toJupiter,Juice will make a series of flybys ofEarth, theEarth-Moon system andVenus to set it on course for itsJuly2031 rendezvous in theJovian system.
Juice will make 3Earth flybys throughout its cruise: among theEarth-Moon system inAugust2024, amongEarth inSeptember(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************** ), and as soon as again amongEarth inJanuary2029
(******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** )overall(*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** )will invest roughly 8 years travelling toJupiter It will reach Jupiter in July 2031, however will currently start making clinical observations 6 months before going into orbit aroundJupiter Juice will go on to invest numerous months orbiting Jupiter, making 35 flybys of icy moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, and lastly performing an orbital trip of Ganymede.
Credit: ESA
“It was very important that we carry out this maneuver today. Otherwise, the cost – how much fuel we would need to burn to reach the new orbit we need – would begin to shoot up dramatically,” states Ignacio.
Today’s burn likewise offered the groups the chance to ensure Juice’s primary engine is working properly. It was very first evaluated quickly after launch, however it up until today, it had not been utilized for such a huge maneuver out in deep area.
“There were some things that we couldn’t test before now. For example, we only had an estimate for how the liquid in the fuel tanks will move around as the spacecraft accelerates. This is very important to know precisely, because if the fuel behaves differently to how we expect, it could cause the spacecraft to drift off course during the burn. So, we are monitoring closely.”
Artist’s impression of the Juice objective checking out the Jupiter system. Credit: spacecraft: ESA/ATG medialab; Jupiter: NASA/ESA/J. Nichols (University of Leicester); Ganymede: NASA/JPL; Io: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona; Callisto and Europa: NASA/JPL/DLR
Next Stop: Jupiter!
The next time that Juice will definitely need to fire its primary engine is throughout its ‘Jupiter Orbit Insertion’ in2031 This is the single crucial maneuver that the groups at ESOC will supervise.
Just 13 hours after visiting Ganymede and going into the Jupiter system, the spacecraft will require to decrease by about 1 km/s– 5 times the modification in speed accomplished today.
“That makes today’s maneuver also an important test for Jupiter insertion – the sooner we know if we have any issues with the main engine, the better,” states Ignacio.
Once in orbit around the gas giant, Juice can start its expedition of the Jupiter system. Teams at ESOC will guide Juice through a series of 35 flybys of the ocean moons. Where as soon as flybys were an annual incident, at Jupiter they will be performed as typically as when every 2 weeks.
These close-ups of the icy moons will permit the spacecraft and researchers on Earth to collect the information required to much better comprehend these mystical alien worlds.
