ESA To Launch Its Jupiter Mission ‘JUICE’ Today: Here’s When And How To Watch Online

ESA's JUICE will make detailed observations of gas giant Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

Ariane 5, a heavy lift launcher developed by French launch service provider Arianespace, will carry the JUICE spacecraft into space from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. 

Source : Twitter/@esa

JUICE Mission: The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission on Thursday, April 13, at 14:15 CEST (5:45 pm IST). Ariane 5, a heavy lift launcher developed by French launch service provider Arianespace, will carry the JUICE spacecraft into space from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. 

ESA's JUICE will make detailed observations of gas giant Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. JUICE will use a powerful suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments to characterise the moons, and discover more about the worlds as potential habitats for past or present life. 

How to watch JUICE's launch online

People can watch the launch of JUICE online on ESA Web TV, or on the official YouTube channel of the space agency. 

The launch programme will be streamed from 13:45 CEST (5:15 pm IST) to 16:05 CEST (7:35 pm IST) on April 13. 

The post-launch press briefing will be held from 16:30 CEST (8:00 pm IST) to 17:15 CEST (8:45 pm IST). 

More about JUICE

The JUICE spacecraft is equipped with monitoring cameras that will capture parts of the solar array deployment after launch, and a few days later, the deployment of the 16-metre long radar antenna. 

The JUICE spacecraft will deploy its various antennas and instrument booms over the two-and-a-half weeks following launch. 

In August 2024, JUICE will perform the first of course gravity assist flybys in the inner Solar System.

The spacecraft will monitor the complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment of Jupiter in depth, and the planet's interplay with its moons. One of the primary goals of JUICE is to study the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the universe.

JUICE will venture on an eight-year voyage with flybys of Earth and Venus to reach Jupiter. While orbiting Jupiter, JUICE will make 35 flybys of the three large moons, before changing orbits to Ganymede. 

NASA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Israel Space Agency have also contributed to the JUICE mission.