Which space agency leads the JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons?

The European Space Agency leads the JUICE mission to Jupiter’s icy moons. JUICE stands for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, an ESA mission designed to study Jupiter and the ocean-bearing moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

The spacecraft launched on 14 April 2023 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It is scheduled to reach Jupiter in July 2031 after a complex series of planetary flybys that conserve fuel and build orbital energy.

NASA, JAXA and the Israel Space Agency contributed hardware or scientific instruments, but those partnerships do not make them the mission’s lead agency. JUICE’s main scientific goal is to investigate how icy moons formed, evolved and may maintain subsurface environments capable of supporting habitability. It is planned to enter orbit around Ganymede after studying the wider Jovian system.