The Moon and Earth give the spacecraft a whirl toward its final destination, Jupiter.

A European Space Agency space probe will fly past the Moon and Earth at high speed over the next two days on its way to Jupiter. Launched a year and a half ago, the JUICE probe is gaining speed thanks to a planned maneuver. The probe is scheduled to reach Jupiter in July 2031.

This is a unique maneuver that has been prepared down to the smallest detail, says ESA engineer Alessandro Atzi on the radio program. News & Partners. He also previously participated in the launch of the juice. “It is common for a spacecraft to fly close to the Earth to gain speed, but this is the first time in history that a spacecraft has flown over the Moon first and then passed over the Earth.”

What is called flyby This is necessary because the probe does not have enough fuel on board to fly directly from Earth to Jupiter. That would require about 60,000 kilograms of fuel, an impossible amount according to the European Space Agency. “The satellite would have to be 30 times bigger,” Atzi said. “Instead, we use the gravity that the spacecraft gets for free from the Moon and other planets.”

The European probe is expected to make the big crossover to Jupiter by orbiting the moon and Earth. “Using the gravity of the planets gives the spacecraft a strong swing, which will be repeated many times in the coming years,” says Atzi, who compares the maneuver to a lasso. “It’s as if the spacecraft has been given an extra whip towards Jupiter.”

around flyby It has been thought through for years by ESA engineers. “This requires enormous calculations,” said the engineer. To reach Jupiter in 2031, the spacecraft will need to make several such swings. “The day after tomorrow, the juice will set its course to Venus, where the spacecraft will collide again in August next year. The probe will then return to Earth two more times to gain additional speed.”

The path taken by the space probe JOCE to Jupiter:

According to calculations, the space probe will pass close to the moon tonight at around 11:15 p.m. Dutch time. “The probe will be about 700 kilometers from the moon. That’s very close in space terms and it has to be done very precisely,” says Atzi. However, according to the European Space Agency, a successful maneuver is almost guaranteed. “The chance of something going wrong is very small, because we can calculate the trajectory of the ship very precisely.”

Tomorrow evening the juice will orbit the Earth. Its shortest distance to Earth will be around 11:57 p.m., about 6,800 kilometers. That’s closer than some satellites. Maybe flyby It can be seen in Europe with a good pair of binoculars or a telescope. It will appear as a fast-moving spot in the sky.

ESA hopes to find liquid water on Jupiter. “Jupiter has three icy moons with lots of solid ice on the surface. These moons could have liquid water beneath the surface,” says the engineer. “The mission also teaches us about the origins of our solar system and the universe.”

This is only the third mission to the solar system’s largest planet. If the spacecraft runs out of fuel, the juice will crash into Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s roughly 100 moons, in 2035.