With the discovery of 12 new ones, Jupiter now has more moons than any other planet
NBCDec 24, 2022
European Space Agency Launches Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moons
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Image copyright: European Space Agency
The Facts
The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its "Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer" (Juice) mission on an Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana on Friday. The liftoff marks the start of a trek to explore the oceans on Jupiter's icy moons.
On Thursday, the ESA abruptly postponed the launch due to lightning risks at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Spin
Narrative A
The European space program has been a bureaucracy-made disaster as billions of taxpayer money have been diverted to the institutional grandiosity of the obsolete ESA rather than to technical developments. This has left the organization lagging even behind India in the space race. While Europe indeed has great rocket scientists, it has been a complete failure in judging the market and improving its abilities.
Narrative B
If a space revolution breaks out in the coming years, Europe will not miss it as the ESA has well-invested money in bold projects, achieving huge results. While the continent still lacks a human spaceflight program to keep pace with other nations, it is envisaging public-private partnerships to design, develop and operate space infrastructure as well as modify its inefficient geo-return contracting policy. This mission to probe the possibility of life on Jupiter's icy moons is a splash in more ways than one.
