Missions after Juno
The next set of Jupiter missions will focus not on the planet, but its moons
The liquid water oceans of Jupiter’s icy moons have long held a fascination for planetary scientists, partly for what they can teach us about water in our Solar System and partly because of the tantalising possibility that they might provide havens for life. Now three planned missions will turn their focus on these icy worlds.
First to launch in June 2022 will be the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) looking at Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. After arriving at the gas giant in 2029, JUICE will spend the first few years orbiting Jupiter, performing flybys of the moons to map out their surfaces visually, while using radar to peer beneath. Finally, in 2032, JUICE will start orbiting Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System.
Next up is NASA’s Europa Clipper, which is set to launch in October 2024. Previous missions have spotted water plumes erupting from Europa’s surface, potentially providing a way to get a close-up of the water on the moon without having to drill through 20km of ice to reach it.
Finally, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) is planning the Gan De probe. The launch is pencilled in for 2029, arriving at Jupiter in 2035, though exactly what it will do there is still being decided. One option is to send it to Callisto, completing the trio of icy moon examinations. Alternately, it could end up visiting the highly volcanic Io and perhaps even sending a lander to the surface. Whatever happens, it looks like Jupiter’s moons should prepare for visitors.