On 19 and 20 August, the JUICE mission will make the first ever attempt to get a gravitational boost from both Earth and the moon on its way to Jupiter
spacecraft is stopping by home in what the European Space Agency is calling “a double world first”. It will fly past Earth and the moon on 19 and 20 August, marking the first of several complex manoeuvres along its looping path to Jupiter – and it may be possible to spot the spacecraft in the sky as it hurtles by.
JUICE launched on 14 April 2023, and since then it has been circling the sun roughly alongside Earth. But on 19 August, its journey will start to get interesting. It will pass within 700 kilometres of the surface of the moon, slowing it down slightly in what is called a gravity assist. Then, the next day, it will dip less than 7000 kilometres from Earth’s surface,even more. That is when it may be possible for eagle-eyed skywatchers in South-East Asia to catch a glimpse of the spacecraft.
The first manoeuvre may be the most complicated of the entire mission because JUICE must pass through precisely the right point in relation to both Earth and the moon to catch a ride to Venus.
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