ESA JUICE mission delayed by 24 hours due to bad weather
JUICE
Liftoff of the European Space Agency's (ESA) JUICE mission, which seeks to find whether Jupiter's icy moons are capable of hosting life, has been postponed by 24 hours because of bad weather. The launch was previously planned to take place at 1215 GMT on Thursday (April 13). ESA has said that the next attempt will take place on Friday within 30 seconds of the same time. The decision to postpone the launch was taken due to threat of lightning in the cloudy skies.
Stephane Israel, the CEO of French firm Arianespace in charge of the Ariane 5 rocket, told AFP that with just minutes to spare, "a large mass of clouds approached and we absolutely could not proceed with the launch due to the risk of lightning".
In order for a perfect liftoff, three parameters must get the green light: the launcher, the probe and the weather
On Friday, the risk of lightning will be monitored "until the last moment," he added.
The delay was announced to the Jupiter control room in Kourou, where many people, including Belgium's King Philippe, had gathered to watch the launch.
The JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is still on track to arrive at the gas giant in July 2031. The six-tonne spacecraft, uncrewed will investigate Jupiter's icy moons.
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The discovery of huge oceans of liquid water -- the main ingredient for life as we know it -- kilometres beneath their icy shells has made them prime candidates to potentially host life in our celestial backyard.
Once launched, JUICE will take a long and winding path to Jupiter, which is some 628 million kilometres (390 million miles) from Earth, using other planets for a gravitational boost along the way.
First, it will do a fly-by of Earth and the Moon, then will slingshot around Venus in 2025 before swinging past Earth again in 2029.
Once the probe arrives in 2031, it will need to very carefully hit the brakes to enter Jupiter's orbit.
From there, JUICE will focus on Jupiter's and its three icy, ocean-bearing moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
(With inputs from agencies)
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