European scientists are set to attempt, for the first time, a consecutive gravitational assist from the Moon followed by Earth to steer the Juice spacecraft towards Jupiter in a first-ever double flyby maneuver.
The Juice spacecraft is expected to perform a double flyby to reach Jupiter. (Source: NASA/Reuters).
Just over a year after its launch, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) from the European Space Agency will return to Earth on August 19-20 and will use the gravitational slingshot effect to speed up its journey towards Venus and subsequently to Jupiter.
In a novel double flyby maneuver, the Juice spacecraft will first harness the Moon’s gravity to adjust its trajectory towards Earth. Scientists warn that this could potentially alter the 8-year journey to reach Jupiter and its moons.
“This is very risky because even the slightest mistake at that stage will be amplified by the second part of the process involving the use of Earth’s gravity to slow down,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the Juice mission director.
The European Space Agency (ESA) stated that the Juice spacecraft is expected to fly within 750 km of the Moon’s surface at its closest point. Scientists have employed the “gravity assist” method for decades to navigate the solar system while conserving fuel. This technique involves skimming past a planet or moon and utilizing gravitational forces to accelerate, decelerate, or change course.
However, this week’s flyby of the Moon and Earth marks the first attempt to carry out two such maneuvers consecutively. If successful, it will place Juice on the correct path to approach Jupiter and its three largest ocean-bearing moons—Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede—by 2031, aided by three additional gravity assists: Venus in 2025, followed by Earth again in 2026 and 2029.
Building on NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter in the 1990s, the Juice mission led by ESA will orbit the largest planet in the solar system, conducting flybys of its three major icy moons and ultimately orbiting Ganymede to investigate its potential for supporting life.
