The ESA Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE): mission status and upcoming activities

The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) is the European Space Agency’s first large-class mission under the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 program. The spacecraft was launched in April 2023 and is currently travelling toward Jupiter, where it is expected to arrive in July 2031 following an eight-year cruise through interplanetary space. JUICE is equipped with ten advanced scientific instruments dedicated to geophysical, in-situ, and remote-sensing investigations, along with the Planetary Radio Interferometer and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) and a radiation monitor.

The mission is designed to assess the potential for habitable conditions on the Jupiter’s icy moons Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, while also examining the Jovian system as a whole and the complex interactions that occur within it. Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, is the primary focus of JUICE because of its suitability as a natural laboratory for the study of icy bodies and ocean worlds as well as the presence of its intrinsic magnetic field. Observations of Europa and Callisto will also enable comparative studies across the Galilean satellite system. At the time of writing, JUICE has completed approximately one third of its journey to Jupiter. During that time, the payload has already been activated several times and acquired many scientific data, notably during the double Earth-Moon gravity assist in Summer 2024 but also more recently during the flyby of comet 3I/ATLAS in November 2025, while the comet was close to its perihelion. After less than 3 years in space, the scientific relevance of the JUICE data expands well above the mission objectives and already provides important contributions to heliophysics, Earth, Moon and (interstellar) cometary science. 

This presentation will outline the mission’s scientific goals, summarize key activities and results carried out during the cruise to date, describe the current mission status, and highlight the planned activities for the remainder of the cruise phase, in particular the upcoming second Earth Gravity Assist.