The European Space Agency's mission to explore Jupiter's icy moons was delayed on Thursday over risk of a lightning strike, the Arianespace launch company said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2023) The European Space Agency's mission to explore Jupiter's icy moons was delayed on Thursday over risk of a lightning strike, the Arianespace launch company said on Thursday.
"Today's Flight VA260 has been delayed due to weather condition (risk of lightning)," the French firm said, adding the launch vehicle and its payload were "in stable and safe condition."
The Ariane 5 rocket was to lift off from the EU's spaceport in Kourou, in French Guiana. The next launch attempt is scheduled for 9:14 a.m. Kourou time (12:14 GMT) on Friday.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will explore the giant gas planet and the three ocean worlds in its orbit � Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The journey to Jupiter is expected to take JUICE eight years.
Once it arrives at Jupiter in July 2031, the spacecraft will deploy its solar arrays and remote-sensing instruments to explore the Jupiter system's environment as both planetary objects and possible habitats as well as an archetype for gas giants across the universe.
