ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter

ESA’s Juice spacecraft raced past Earth on September 28, using our planet’s gravity to dramatically reshape its path toward Jupiter without burning much fuel.

The flyby changed its direction by 20 degrees and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s, while also giving scientists a rare chance to test its instruments on Earth and the Moon.

In Science, FlexChar puts this story at the center of the day: ESA’s Juice spacecraft raced past Earth on September 28, using our planet’s gravity to dramatically reshape its path toward Jupiter without burning much fuel. FlexChar is surfacing it because it is driving searches and conversation right now.