Here are the key phases of the JUICE to Jupiter mission: # Jupiter Orbit Insertion (July 2031) - Initial ~400 km Ganymede gravity-assist flyby reduces spacecraft speed by ~300 m/s. - ~7.5 hours later: ~900 m/s Jupiter orbit-insertion burn. - Perijove-Raising Manoeuvre (PRM) at apoapsis lifts periapsis of the initial 13×243 Rj elongated orbit to match Ganymede’s (~15 Rj). - **Duration:** 186 days - **Cumulative propulsive Δv:** 952 m/s (2,130 mph)
# 2nd Ganymede Flyby → First Callisto Encounter - 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ganymede flybys to shorten orbital period and lower inclination, followed by the first Callisto flyby. - **Duration:** 193 days - **Propulsive Δv:** 27 m/s (60 mph)
# Europa Phase (starts July 2032) - Two Europa flybys at <400 km altitude, each aligned with perijove to minimize time in Jupiter’s intense radiation belts (one low-perijove passage per flyby), followed by another Callisto flyby. - The brief Europa passes account for roughly one-third of the mission’s lifetime radiation exposure. - **Duration:** 35 days - **Propulsive Δv:** 30 m/s (67 mph)
# Inclined Phase - ~6 additional flybys of Callisto and Ganymede to raise orbital inclination to ~22°, enabling studies of Jupiter’s polar regions and magnetosphere over ~4 months. - **Duration:** 208 days - **Propulsive Δv:** 13 m/s (29 mph)
# Transfer to Ganymede - Series of Callisto and Ganymede gravity assists gradually reduce spacecraft speed by ~1,600 m/s. - Additional distant (~45,000 km) far-side Ganymede flybys near the Jupiter–Ganymede L2 region trim required orbital-insertion Δv by a further ~500 m/s. - **Duration:** 353 days - **Propulsive Δv (targeting):** 60 m/s (130 mph)
# Ganymede Orbital Phase (Dec 2034 → end of 2035) - 185 m/s braking burn to enter an initial 12-hour polar orbit around Ganymede. - Jupiter’s gravity gradually lowers minimum altitude to ~500 km after ~100 days. - Two major burns establish a nearly circular ~500 km polar orbit for ~6 months of observations (composition, interior, magnetosphere), followed by a final ~200 km stage. - As propellant is exhausted and perturbations grow, JUICE impacts Ganymede near the end of 2035. - **Duration:** 284 days - **Propulsive Δv:** 614 m/s (1,370 mph)
