The JUICE instruments will observe 3I/ATLAS from November 2 to 25, 2025.
The comet 3I/ATLAS is currently difficult to see from Earth, but JUICE has a better vantage point.
The JUICE team hopes to learn more about the water from the comet 3I/ATLAS through observations.
JUICE is currently about 60 million kilometers away from 3I/ATLAS.
JUICE is expected to have good visibility of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS in the coming weeks.
Data from the JUICE observations will be transmitted to Earth in February 2026.
The European spacecraft JUICE is on its way to Jupiter and will soon target the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
The JUICE team aims for SWI to achieve the first high-resolution measurements of water on 3I/ATLAS.
JUICE can only observe 3I/ATLAS for a maximum of 30 minutes a day to avoid excessive sun exposure.
JUICE and the comet 3I/ATLAS will cross paths in the solar system, which is considered a significant opportunity by the research team.
The Submillimeter Wave Instrument (SWI) on JUICE captures radiation with wavelengths between approximately one-quarter and one-half millimeter.
The findings from the Webb observations will support upcoming missions such as ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) and future exploration of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
The new antenna will support current flagship ESA missions including Juice, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, Mars Express, and Hera.
The New Norcia 3 antenna will support current ESA flagship missions such as Juice, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, Mars Express, and Hera.
The new deep space antenna will support ESA's flagship missions, including Juice, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, Mars Express, and Hera, when it becomes operational in 2026.
ESA’s JUICE spacecraft flew past the Moon in August 2024 to calibrate its radar system.
JUICE is now prepared to map layers below the icy surfaces of Jovian moons.
JUICE’s radar system was algorithmically calibrated by engineers thanks to the lunar flyby.
The ESA planetary missions BepiColombo to Mercury and JUICE to Jupiter utilize instruments developed at the DLR Institute for Space Research.
The Jupiter-bound ESA spacecraft JUICE flew past the Moon in mid-August and activated its radar instrument to characterize and calibrate detections before studying the Jovian icy moons.