Skip to main content

JUICE mission to Jupiter sends back first images of Earth from space

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft, which launched last week, has sent back its first images from space — and they are some stunning views of the Earth. The JUICE mission is on its way to explore three of Jupiter’s largest moons — Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa — but it will be traveling for eight years before it arrives at the Jupiter system in 2031.

In the meantime, the spacecraft’s cameras have been taking images pointed back at Earth. The images were captured shortly after launch on Friday, April 14, using JUICE’s monitoring cameras. The two cameras are designed to watch over the spacecraft as it deploys rather than for scientific purposes, so they capture image at a relatively low resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. Even so, they managed to get some gorgeous views of the planet as JUICE speeds away from it.

Shortly after launch on 14 April, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, captured this stunning view of Earth. The coastline around the Gulf of Aden can be made out to the right of centre, with patchy clouds above land and sea.
Shortly after launch on 14 April, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer captured this stunning view of Earth. The coastline around the Gulf of Aden can be made out to the right of center, with patchy clouds above land and sea. ESA/Juice/JMC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

The monitoring cameras are needed to oversee the complex process of the JUICE spacecraft unfurling its various antennae and booms. The spacecraft had to be folded up to fit inside the nose cone of the Ariane 5 rocket that launched it, but once it was deployed into space, it could begin unfurling. It has already unfolded its two large solar panels, spanning a total of 27 meters, and over the next two weeks, it will deploy further structures like its 16m-long Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) antenna.

Recommended Videos

One of the monitoring cameras, called Juice monitoring camera 2, or JMC2, is located on top of the spacecraft to oversee the deployment of the RIME antenna. In the image below, you can see the RIME antennae folded up and in the configuration in which it was stowed for launch, and ready to begin deployment in the next few days.

Shortly after launch on 14 April, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, captured this image with its Juice monitoring camera 2 (JMC2).
Shortly after launch on 14 April, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer captured this image with its Juice monitoring camera 2 (JMC2). ESA/Juice/JMC, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

The other monitoring camera, Juice monitoring camera 1, or JMC1, is placed at the front of the spacecraft to oversee the deployment of the solar panels and other antennae.

If you’re hoping for some more detailed images of Jupiter and its moon from the mission, don’t worry: JUICE also has a science camera called JANUS that will capture high-resolution images.

The JANUS (Jovis, Amorum ac Natorum Undique Scrutator) instrument will study Jupiter’s atmospher,e as well as the icy moons, armed with a wheel of 13 different filters to detect particular chemical elements. It will be able to capture images with a resolution of up to 8 feet on Ganymede and around 6 miles at Jupiter.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
SpaceX captures Starship booster for the first time in historic test
Mechazilla catching Starship booster stage.

SpaceX has scripted history with the fifth test of its massive Starship rocket system. The giant rocket launched from the Starbase site in South Texas earlier today, and following a brief trip to space, the reusable spacecraft made a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

But the more remarkable feat was the successful capture of the Super Heavy booster, a fully reusable first stage that stands at a towering 71 meters and draws power from 33 Raptor engines. Up till now, the boosters have splashed into the water (or got damaged), but this time, SpaceX managed to capture it using giant mechanical arms.

Read more
View of Hurricane Milton captured from space by ISS astronaut
Hurricane Milton is pictured as a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Yucatan Peninsula from the space station on Oct. 8, 2024.

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida and threatens to bring extreme weather and damage to the region, it is being tracked from space including by those on the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA has joined other federal agencies in urging residents in the area to evacuate. "FEMA is urging anyone in Milton’s path to evacuate immediately," NASA is warning. "Do not wait. Milton is currently a Category 4 storm tracking toward central Florida and is anticipated to make landfall Wednesday night."

Read more
NASA scrubs Thursday’s launch of Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter moon
The Falcon Heavy rocket on the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX and NASA have called off Thursday’s planned launch of the Europa Clipper mission due to Hurricane Milton, which is heading east toward Florida, home of the Kennedy Space Center.

“Once the storm passes, recovery teams will assess the safety of the spaceport and the launch processing facilities for damage before personnel return to work,” NASA said in a post on social media on Sunday, adding in another message: “Teams have secured the spacecraft in SpaceX’s hangar at NASA Kennedy.”

Read more