ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter
The European Space Agency's Juice spacecraft successfully performed a gravity-assist maneuver using Earth to adjust its trajectory toward Jupiter. This precise operation saved significant fuel, which will be used for future scientific observations of Jupiter's icy moons.
Why it matters
Efficient fuel management is critical for long-duration space missions, ensuring the spacecraft has enough propellant to conduct its full scientific campaign.
The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) made a close pass by Earth on September 28, skimming the outer reaches of the atmosphere and using our planet's gravity to reshape its path toward Jupiter while consuming very little fuel.
The carefully planned gravity assist changed Juice's direction by 20 relative to its previous trajectory and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s. During the four weeks leading up to the encounter, mission controllers needed to make only one small course correction (out of six opportunities set aside) to place the spacecraft on the precise approach needed to take full advantage of Earth's gravity.
Controllers began monitoring Juice particularly closely on August 17 and will continue that intensive tracking through October 10.
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