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Xinhua News Agency, Paris, August 21 (Reporter Luo Yu) The European Space Agency said on the 21st that the "Jupiter Icy Satellite Probe" it launched successfully achieved the world's first moon-Earth flyby, and will use the Earth's gravity to allow the probe to "take a shortcut" through Venus to reach Jupiter.

According to the official website of ESA, the flyby mission was completed from the 19th to the 20th. The purpose was to change the flight path of the probe in space, first using the gravity of the moon and then using the gravity of the earth to change the speed and direction of the probe.

The ESA said that the flyby of the moon increased the probe's speed relative to the sun by 0.9 km/s, guiding it to Earth, while the flyby of the Earth reduced the probe's speed relative to the sun by 4.8 km/s, guiding it into a new orbit toward Venus. The flyby of the moon and Earth deflected the probe's course by 100 degrees compared to its pre-flyover path.

It is reported that Jupiter is an average of 800 million kilometers away from the Earth. Without a huge rocket, it would take an "almost impossible" 60 tons of onboard propellant to send the "Jupiter Icy Moon Probe" directly to the planet. In addition, the probe would need to carry a large amount of additional propellant to slow down after reaching Jupiter and enter Jupiter's orbit.

In April 2023, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer will be launched from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is planned to conduct an eight-year cruise, fly over the Earth and Venus, and finally reach Jupiter. After that, it will conduct detailed observations of Jupiter and three satellites that may contain oceans, namely Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, to further explore their habitability.

(Shangguan News)