Eleni Koutsiona*, Kateriniovi Triantafillaki
What is JUICE?
JUICE is the latest mission of the ESA (European Space Agency), which will allow us to study the planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons – Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. The name stands for Jupiter’s ICy moons Explorer, which means Explorer of Jupiter’s Icy Moons.
What makes these moons so special?
Scientists believe that these three moons of Jupiter hide salty oceans beneath their icy surfaces – indeed, there is evidence showing that Ganymede has more water than Earth’s surface, and possibly multiple layers of water and ice. The main objective of the mission is to assess the habitability of one of Jupiter’s moons (likely Europa), namely if life could potentially exist there.
Mission
After its launch in April 2023, JUICE will begin its long journey, leveraging the gravity of Earth, the moon, and Venus to accelerate and enter orbit around Jupiter. The journey is expected to last about 8 years (until 2031), and once it reaches its destination, JUICE will study the planet and its icy moons for 3.5 years until its fuel runs out, eventually crashing into the surface of Ganymede in 2035.
Eleni Koutsiona was recognized for creating a juice in the ESA competition for the Juice mission. She is an undergraduate student in the Department of Physics at the University of Crete. The photos you see are of her juice.