The Juice space probe has achieved a “world first” by brushing past the Moon and then Earth before propelling itself towards Venus

A delicate maneuver to propel itself to the other end of the solar system. The European Space Agency congratulated itself, on Wednesday, August 21, on having succeeded in piloting its Juice probe so that it brushes past the Moon and then the Earth, at an altitude of less than 7,000 km. All in order to take advantage of the gravitational attraction to modify its trajectory, and thus allow it to begin its flight towards the planet Venus, with Jupiter as its final destination.

Several space missions have already used this method of gravitational assistance, but this combined flyby of the Earth and the Moon is “a world first”the ESA further emphasizes.

The Juice probe has therefore begun its trajectory towards Venus, which it should reach in 2025, before flying past Earth twice more, in 2026 and 2029, and approaching Jupiter in 2031. The Ariane 5 rocket, which launched the craft into space in April 2023, is not powerful enough to propel it directly towards the largest planet in the solar system.

Juice must observe the icy moons of Jupiter for signs of alien life, 800 million kilometers from our atmosphere.