The European Space Agency has confirmed that life can exist on Earth. Of course, we already knew that, but the confirmation comes as part of Juice’s atmosphere test to ensure its various instruments are ready to test Jupiter’s atmosphere once it reaches the gas giant.
The test was conducted to help test and calibrate Juice’s science instruments during its latest flyby of Earth. The ESA wanted to ensure that Juice—which stands for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer—was ready to conduct a full bevy of tests once it reaches the Jovian system. The instruments tested include the Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) and Submillimetre Wave Instrument (SWI).
These two instruments together were able to find confirmation that Earth’s atmosphere is indeed ripe with the building blocks of life. That, of course, is no surprise. but, it is nice to know that the instruments should be able to pick up the same chemical compositions if they do actually exist in the atmosphere’s of Jupiter’s various moons. Future Juice atmosphere tests will likely help outline additional missions to Jovian moons.
You can read all about the various data points the ESA collected during the flyby. However, the important bit to remember here is that Juice is being sent to Jupiter’s various moons in a bid to prove that life exists on those planetary satellites. Considering some of the discoveries we’ve made recently regarding Jupiter and its moons, many scientists are excited about the prospects that this mission could bring to the table.
Once Juice arrives at Jupiter, the two instruments mentioned before will conduct an in-depth atmosphere test. SWI will study the composition of the planet and its various icy moons, helping us learn more about their climates, origins, and histories. MAJIS, on the other hand, will observe the clouds and various chemicals and ingredients within the atmosphere itself.
It will be years before we fully understand everything that Juice can tell us. However, this successful test at least gives us hope that the mission will go as planned once it arrives in the Jovian mission.
