Mumbai, April 13: On Thursday, the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission is scheduled to blast off for its eight-year journey to the solar system's largest planet.

The spacecraft will launch on its journey atop Europe's Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The mission of the spacecraft is to study three of Jupiter's four primary moons. Interestingly, the heavy-lift Ariane 5, which is about to retire after more than 30 years of service, will fly one last time during the launch. Juice Mission 2023: In Search of Alien Life, European Space Agency To Launch Spacecraft To Explore Jupiter, Know When and Where To Watch Live Streaming of Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer’s Liftoff.

When Juice reaches Jupiter in July 2031, it will spend the next three and a half years orbiting the planet and performing close flybys of three of its four major moons: Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. JUICE will only perform two flybys of this moon that may harbour life and will spend the majority of its time on Ganymede and Callisto because NASA's Europa Clipper, which launches the following year, will already be investigating Europa in great detail at that point.

When Will Juice Launch? Know Time, Date, and Venue

On April 13 at 1.15 p.m. UK time, Juice will launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and will separate from the rocket after around 30 minutes.

Juice must launch within a one-second window due to the complexity of the trajectory that will carry it to the gas giant planet, however, Arianespace officials said in a pre-launch press conference that the ‘team has built margins into the pre-launch procedure to absorb any delays and deviations’. Up to the end of April, fortunately, more one-second launch opportunities will be accessible each day.  Jupiter and the Juice Launch: What You Need to Know. 

Where to Watch Live Streaming of Explorer’s Liftoff

One may tune watch the launch live on ESA Web TV or the space agency's YouTube channel. A post-launch briefing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET, and the live feed is set to start at 7:45 a.m. ET.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2023 10:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).