JUICE: Why is ESA sending a satellite to Jupiter?
JUICE: Why is ESA sending a satellite to Jupiter?

One of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) most ambitious missions ever has lift-off, 24 hours after being postponed.

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice for short, will study the planet’s ice-covered moons - Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede - to see if they have the conditions needed to sustain life.

There is evidence that beneath the moons’ icy crusts are oceans of liquid water, and the ESA mission will aim to determine whether these oceans have a chance of sustaining simple microbial organisms. The £1.4 billion mission was launched on an Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana - beginning a journey that will take eight years.

Report by Jonesia.

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