JUICE - Exploring Jupiters icy Moons

In May 2022, the Airbus Defence and Space-built spacecraft JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) will head for Jupiter. Its main mission will be to explore the huge planets three largest icy moons in the hope of determining whether life is possible on these dwarf planets.

What if extra-terrestrial life does exist? For centuries, this question which both fascinates and frightens mankind has remained unanswered. But by the year 2030, some answers may well have been found with the help of Airbus Defence and Space.

In July 2015, the company was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as prime contractor for the design, development, production, and testing of a new spacecraft callednamed JUICE.

As its name implies (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), the mission will be to explore the Jovian system, focussing on three of Jupiters huge Galilean moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which are as large as dwarf planets and covered by an icy crust.