JUICE Archives

Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Enceladus Is A Top Target For ESA

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2024March 27, 2024

A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander collects samples and analyses them for […]

Blood Falls, Antarctica, where microbes live under the ice. Iron and other elements from the bedrock below the ice become oxidized when it interacts with air, producing the rusty red coloring. Source: Jill Mikucki

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrobiology (general), Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Subglacial Microbial Life On Earth And Beyond

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2024February 23, 2024

The search for life beyond Earth fascinates many and inspires big questions: Are we truly alone in the Universe? Is our Earth unique? Is it possible that life beyond Earth […]

JWST/NIRSpec integrated spectra and 1σ uncertainties (gray error bars) of Callisto’s leading (purple) and trailing (red) hemisphere, normalized to 1 at 3.82 μm and offset vertically for clarity. The G395H grating has a ~0.1 μm wide wavelength gap, shifting between ~4 and 4.2 μm across NIRSpec IFU’s 29 image slices. Some of the image slices that span Callisto’s disk include wavelength coverage between ~4 and 4.2 μm, which are shown here for Callisto’s leading (bright blue) and trailing (bright orange) hemispheres. All spectral features identified in this study are labeled, with dotted lines indicating their central wavelengths. Features with confirmed compositions have bolded labels, whereas weak features, or those with multiple compositional interpretations, are italicized and followed by question marks. Possible bands and spectral structure at wavelength >4.98 μm may result from data calibration artifacts and are not analyzed in this study. The inset box shows a close-up of the 4.19 to 4.42 μm wavelength range, highlighting the CO2 features we have identified and the different band centers for 12CO2 on Callisto’s leading (4.254 μm) and trailing (4.250 μm) hemisphere, as well as a feature near 4.3 μm that may result from an isotope of CO2 or could be a residual solar line (Appendix A.3). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report

Revealing Callisto’s Carbon-rich Surface And CO2 Atmosphere With JWST

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2024January 31, 2024

We analyzed spectral cubes of Callisto’s leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with the NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit (G395H) on the James Webb Space Telescope.

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Press Release

Video: The Making of Juice: The Film

by Keith CowingNovember 24, 2023November 23, 2023

One giant planet. Three icy moons. An eight-year journey. One special spacecraft.

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Juice Spacecraft Makes Earth-Moon Flyby On Its Astrobiology-Themed Mission

by Keith CowingNovember 17, 2023November 17, 2023

On 17 November 2023, ESA’s Juice spacecraft carried out one of the largest and most important manoeuvres in its eight-year journey to Jupiter.

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Combining Astrometry and JUICE — Europa Clipper Radio Science To Improve The Ephemerides Of The Galilean Moons

by Keith CowingJuly 31, 2023May 27, 2024

The upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions to Jupiter’s Galilean satellites will provide radio science tracking measurements of both spacecraft. Such data are expected to significantly help estimating the moons’ […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Jupiter Science Enabled by ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2023April 14, 2024

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will provide a detailed investigation of the Jovian system in the 2030s, combining a suite of state-of-the-art instruments with an orbital tour tailored to […]

Away Teams & Field Reports, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

JUICE Leaves Earth On An Astrobiology Expedition To Jupiter’s Ocean Moons

by Keith CowingApril 14, 2023April 14, 2023

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the […]

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Spotlight On Ganymede, JUICE’s Primary Target

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2023November 17, 2023

A key focus of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will be Ganymede: Jupiter’s largest moon, and an ideal natural laboratory for studying the icy worlds of the Solar System.