Juice rerouted to Venus in world’s first lunar-Earth flyby
August 22, 2024 8:47 AM Subscribe
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, using the gravity of Earth to send it Venus-bound, on a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner Solar System. The closest approach to the Moon was at 23:15 CEST (21:15 UTC) on 19 August, guiding Juice towards a closest approach to Earth just over 24 hours later at 23:56 CEST (21:56 UTC) on 20 August. As Juice flew just 6840 km above Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, it snapped a series of images with its onboard monitoring cameras, and collected scientific data with eight of its ten instruments.
I find this kind of stuff infinitely more fascinating than our attempts to place more salty bags of competence into near-Earth space. Way to go JUICE team!
posted by credulous at 8:57 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by credulous at 8:57 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
obligatory xkcd https://xkcd.com/1244/
posted by booooooze at 9:12 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by booooooze at 9:12 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
Imagining Jon Bois shaking his head as 20222 gets pushed back another month.
posted by mhoye at 9:18 AM on August 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 9:18 AM on August 22, 2024 [15 favorites]
Did they manage to get snapshots of the Apollo trash to appease the "the moon landing was fake" crowd?
posted by Chuffy at 9:27 AM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Chuffy at 9:27 AM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
I’m not sure moon landing denialism is susceptible to an evidence-based approach.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:35 AM on August 22, 2024 [19 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:35 AM on August 22, 2024 [19 favorites]
Finally those juiceless Venusians will know the sweet taste of space nectar!
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:44 AM on August 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:44 AM on August 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
juiceless Venusian
Sockpuppet name up for grabs!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:49 AM on August 22, 2024 [5 favorites]
Sockpuppet name up for grabs!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:49 AM on August 22, 2024 [5 favorites]
(Spacecamp (1986)-style)JUICE AND NINE AND TEN FOR-EVER
posted by danhon at 10:26 AM on August 22, 2024 [3 favorites]
Anybody got eyes on the protomolecule?
posted by phunniemee at 11:21 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 11:21 AM on August 22, 2024 [6 favorites]
It ain't their fault that it's out there getting loose
posted by credulous at 11:56 AM on August 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by credulous at 11:56 AM on August 22, 2024 [4 favorites]
I'm not following. In what way is this a "world's first"? (c.f. WMAP: https://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/observatory_orbit.html).
(Not to say it isn't cool or to diminish the work of those involved--just not understanding what the claim to novelty actually is.)
posted by dsword at 12:57 PM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
(Not to say it isn't cool or to diminish the work of those involved--just not understanding what the claim to novelty actually is.)
posted by dsword at 12:57 PM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
WMAP was launched into a highly-elliptical orbit around Earth, where it performed a few phasing orbits to get it set up correctly for the lunar fly-by. So not technically a fly-by if you're in orbit.
Juice was orbiting the Sun when it approached Earth, flew by Earth without going into orbit (i.e. on a hyperbolic trajectory) and then flew by the Moon (also on a hyperbolic trajectory) thus the claim is this is the first Earth-Moon double fly-by. Although I believe we've done it with other planets like Jupiter and its moons.
posted by credulous at 2:04 PM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
Juice was orbiting the Sun when it approached Earth, flew by Earth without going into orbit (i.e. on a hyperbolic trajectory) and then flew by the Moon (also on a hyperbolic trajectory) thus the claim is this is the first Earth-Moon double fly-by. Although I believe we've done it with other planets like Jupiter and its moons.
posted by credulous at 2:04 PM on August 22, 2024 [1 favorite]
Ahh. Yes. WMAP did not get a gravity assist from Earth, just from the moon. That detail seems maybe a little technical. I thought Juno had done a similar maneuver, but it looks like it just flew by Earth.
Not sure on Jupiter's moons. Maybe Voyager 2?
posted by dsword at 3:08 PM on August 22, 2024
Not sure on Jupiter's moons. Maybe Voyager 2?
posted by dsword at 3:08 PM on August 22, 2024
bq: ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby,
Surely solar-system-first, no?
posted by signal at 3:43 PM on August 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
Surely solar-system-first, no?
posted by signal at 3:43 PM on August 22, 2024 [2 favorites]
We have no proof what Europa's space program has or has not accomplished in the past
posted by Acari at 8:07 PM on August 22, 2024
posted by Acari at 8:07 PM on August 22, 2024
The probe’s first pictures of Earth show clear signs of water, but as yet no definite confirmation of intelligent life.
posted by Phanx at 1:18 AM on August 23, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by Phanx at 1:18 AM on August 23, 2024 [3 favorites]
Mod note: We're up here in the sidebar and the Best Of blog, waving to JUICE as it flies by!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:19 AM on August 23, 2024
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:19 AM on August 23, 2024
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posted by drewbage1847 at 8:50 AM on August 22, 2024 [4 favorites]