{"id":298134,"date":"2026-09-29T17:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/see-the-cool-photos-this-jupiter-bound-spacecraft-took-while-swinging-by-earth\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:06:08","slug":"see-the-cool-photos-this-jupiter-bound-spacecraft-took-while-swinging-by-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/see-the-cool-photos-this-jupiter-bound-spacecraft-took-while-swinging-by-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"See the cool photos this Jupiter-bound spacecraft took while swinging by Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Early Monday morning, the European Space Agency\u2019s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer<\/a> (Juice) zoomed by Earth as it prepared to slingshot itself off to the outer solar system.<\/p>\n

The flyby\u2019s goal was to let Juice use Earth\u2019s gravity to fine-tune its trajectory\u2014and along the way, it snapped some pretty pictures of our planet and the moon.<\/p>\n

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ESA\/Juice\/NavCam<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

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Juice also had the opportunity to tune up and test its scientific tools, which will eventually be used to analyze the mysteries of Jupiter\u2019s icy moons<\/a>. During its Monday flyby, the spacecraft spent some time in the tail of Earth\u2019s magnetic field, which stretches away from the sun, studying charged particles and activity out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuice\u2019s journey to Jupiter provides only a few opportunities to calibrate and validate the instruments under well-understood environmental conditions,\u201d said Juice project scientist Claire Vallat in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also during Monday\u2019s flyby, Juice captured images of Earth, zooming in on parts of Africa, and the moon with its NavCam instrument, which will be vital for steering the ship around Jupiter\u2019s moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. Astronomers expect to gather more high-resolution images and data from the pit stop in the coming weeks. The spacecraft will also pass by Earth once more in 2029 before its final journey to Jupiter.<\/p>\n

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NavCam image of Madagascar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

ESA\/Juice\/NavCam<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Juice arrives at Jupiter sometime in 2031, the spacecraft will put these tools to work, observing the gas giant\u2019s atmosphere and magnetic environment as well as the famous Great Red Spot<\/a>\u2014a roiling anticyclonic storm that has possibly been going on for hundreds of years. Juice will also circumnavigate the gas giant\u2019s moons, which hold hidden oceans that may offer clues to life elsewhere in the universe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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