European spacecraft snaps stunning views of home and the moon
ESA's Juice spacecraft snaps Earth and the moon during a gravity-assist flyby that speeds its journey to Jupiter's icy moons.
Europe's Juice spacecraft captured stunning images of Earth and the moon as it flew by our planet on Monday, using the celestial bodies to gain speed and alter its trajectory for its journey to Jupiter. During the flyby, the European Space Agency's probe came within 5,370 miles of Earth, passing over the Indian Ocean. One of Juice's monitoring cameras captured Africa, while its navigation camera snapped a picture of Madagascar and the moon.
The spacecraft's gravity assist from Earth altered its path by 20 degrees and increased its speed by approximately 7,800 mph, requiring minimal fuel for the maneuver. Juice's team reported using only a small amount of the propellant reserved for this flyby, leaving more fuel for the mission's scientific objectives upon arrival at Jupiter in 2031.
The flyby served as a test for Juice's instruments, providing a real-world opportunity to evaluate their performance on a celestial body. Once Juice arrives at Jupiter, it will conduct 35 flybys of the giant moons Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, all of which are believed to have oceans that could potentially support life.
Written by urgent.news from Mashable's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
