JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)
ESA · Jupiter (Ganymede, Callisto, Europa)
ESA's Jupiter-bound explorer, lately turning its cameras on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS mid-cruise. Arrival at Jupiter comes in July 2031.
At a glance
- Phase
- cruise
- Operator
- ESA
- Destination
- Jupiter (Ganymede, Callisto, Europa)
- Next milestone
- Earth gravity assist flyby on 12 September 2026
- Last verified
- 2026-08-06
Where it stands
In cruise after its August 2025 Venus flyby; ESA's pages this year cover JUICE's observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, with its second Earth flyby set for 12 September 2026 and Jupiter arrival in July 2031.
The mission
JUICE launched on 14 April 2023 and has completed its lunar-Earth flyby (August 2024) and Venus flyby (August 2025), after the team resolved an anomaly on the Venus approach. ESA's most recent stories, from February to April 2026, describe the spacecraft's rare observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS made with its science and navigation cameras. Its route lists Earth flybys in September 2026 and January 2029 before arrival at Jupiter in July 2031 for 35 flybys of the icy moons.
Related
Sources
- esa.int · https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
- cosmos.esa.int · https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/juice/mission-calendar