astrobiology.com/2026/09/22/j... #astrobiology @science.esa.int #ESAJuice #EuropaClipper

When #EuropaClipper arrives at Jupiter, #ESAJuice will still be in its cruise. But from April 2030, JUICE could serve as a great “upstream monitor,” tracking the solar wind before it reaches Clipper within Jupiter‘s complex magnetic environment. We just have to switch on the payload early. #EPSC2026

Both of these Jupiter-bound spacecraft are heading back to Earth to gain speed for the slingshot to Jupiter. #ESAJuice flys past on September 28th, #EuropaClipper on December 3rd, giving them both the opportunity to test instruments and hopefully do some new science. #EPSC2026

Incredibly, despite their different paths and development times, #ESAJuice and #EuropaClipper will both fly by Europa within 4 hours of each other in 2032… a first for studying the potential ocean world, with synergistic opportunities being developed by an international team. #EPSC2026

As someone involved in EJSM nearly 20yrs ago, sitting in #EPSC2026 talks and learning how #ESAJuice and #EuropaClipper are now doing science during cruise is pretty mind-bending: tracking solar ejections, radar scans of Mars, detecting Earth’s lightning from above, and even an interstellar object.