Europe's Juice spacecraft will fly past Earth again on September 28. The probe is on a long journey to Jupiter and its icy moons. It launched in April 2023 and has already flown past the Moon and Venus. This time, it will pass within 8,640 kilometers of our planet. The maneuver will bend its path by about 20 degrees and add nearly 3.5 kilometers per second.
Why does Juice keep coming back instead of flying straight to Jupiter? A direct trip would demand a giant rocket and a huge amount of fuel. Instead, the spacecraft borrows energy from planets as it passes them. Each flyby changes its direction and speed almost for free. Juice should finally reach Jupiter in July 2031 with plenty of fuel left.