The ESA Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission: September 2026 status report

The JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is the first large-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme. Launched on 14 April 2023 from Kourou, the spacecraft is en route towards Jupiter. After arrival in July 2031, JUICE will spend approximately four years studying the Jupiter system, performing multiple flybys of three of its Galilean icy moons before entering orbit around Ganymede for its final year. The mission will investigate conditions that may support habitable environments within the satellites, all of which are thought to contain subsurface liquid water oceans. JUICE will also conduct a global investigation of the Jupiter system as the archetype for giant planet systems throughout our Universe. Interactions between the moons and the magnetosphere, as well as tidal and gravitational evolution within the Galilean system, will also be assessed. Additional targets include the innermost Galilean moon, Io and its plasma torus, the minor and irregular moons, and the ring systems.

To fulfil its scientific goals, JUICE is equipped with ten advanced scientific instruments dedicated to geophysical, in-situ, and remote-sensing investigations, and a radiation monitor, and includes one experiment using the spacecraft’s telecommunications system to connect with ground‑based radio telescopes.

This presentation will provide a brief status update as of the time of the conference (September 2026), present an overview of observations performed so far during the cruise phase, in particular during the 3I/ATLAS campaign, and outline the prospects for the second Earth gravity‑assist flyby. Ongoing areas of collaboration between JUICE and Europa Clipper will also be discussed.