Tag: Callisto
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JAXA RV-X Completes 10m Hop Test at Noshiro
Did JAXA Just Fly Japan’s First Reusable Rocket Prototype? JAXA’s RV-X experimental vehicle lifted 10 meters off a concrete pad at the Noshiro test facility on July 11, 2026 — a 40-second hop that marks Japan’s first successful flight of a reusable rocket prototype. The 7.3-meter-tall, single-engine vehicle rose just over 10 meters, translated approximately…
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Juno data provides insight into thickness of Europa’s surface ice sheet
Using recent data from NASA’s Juno orbiter, scientists have uncovered new details on the thickness and structure of Europa’s surface ice shell, which encases the Jovian moon’s subsurface ocean. For planetary scientists and astrobiologists, Europa’s ocean makes the moon one of the most likely places for life to exist outside of Earth. Since entering orbit…
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NASA, SpaceX launch historic Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter
NASA and SpaceX have launched NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Falcon Heavy launched during an instantaneous launch window on Monday, Oct. 14, at 12:05 PM EDT (16:05 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If Monday’s attempt…
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As JUICE struggles with antenna deployment, program manager highlights status of the mission
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) latest interplanetary mission that is set to explore Jupiter and its three largest Moons, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), successfully launched on Friday, April 14, has been touted as a near-perfect feat. JUICE had little-to-no issues during the launch sequence, right from blasting off atop an Ariane 5 rocket…
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Europe launches spacecraft on eight-year journey to explore Jupiter’s moons
A European Ariane 5 rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Center with the Juicy Icy Moons Explorer mission. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/JM Guillon An Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana Friday with the heaviest interplanetary science probe ever launched, kicking off a $1.7 billion European Space Agency mission on a decade-long quest to Jupiter’s…
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ESA launches JUICE to Jupiter’s icy moons atop Ariane 5
European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace teams have conducted the launch of the historic Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission to the three largest icy moons of Jupiter — Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. The launch, dubbed Flight VA260, is the first of two Ariane 5 missions of 2023 and the penultimate flight of the Ariane…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket launches Europe’s first mission to Jupiter
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”SFN Live”] [tabbyending] Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately one hour before…
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Lightning threat delays launch of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter
The Ariane 5 rocket after rollout to its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: ESA/S. Corvaja The liftoff of Europe’s first mission to Jupiter aboard an Ariane 5 rocket was scrubbed Thursday in French Guiana due to a high risk of lightning at the launch site, delaying until Friday the start of the JUICE…
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JUICE’s launch campaign in imagery
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated April 13 after scrub. These photos and a time lapse video from the European Space Agency chronicle the final preparations for launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft from the Guiana Space Center on the second-to-last Ariane 5 rocket. Built by Airbus, the 13,142-pound (5,961-kilogram) JUICE spacecraft was installed on…
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Europe’s first mission to Jupiter poised for launch from South America
The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft is buttoned up for launch inside the payload fairing of an Ariane 5 rocket. The illustration on the Ariane 5 payload fairing was the winning submission in a children’s art competition, drawn by eight-year-old Yaryna from Ukraine. Credit:ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut The European Space Agency’s $1.7…