3304: Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

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Title text: "I did briefly visit Venus in August 2025, but I figured out the mistake on my own because it didn't have any moons."

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Explanation

This is one of 55 incomplete explanations: This page was created by a SPACECRAFT ON ITS THIRD FLYBY. Don't remove this notice too soon. You can help by editing the explanation!

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE is a scientific space exploration spacecraft created by the European Space Agency (ESA). Its planned voyage began in 2023 and includes flybys of Luna (2024), Earth (2024), Venus (2025), Earth (2026), and Earth (2029), before orbiting Jupiter (2031) and finally settling into an orbit around Ganymede in 2034. In total, this path includes more than 25 gravity assists.

This comic shows the interaction between JUICE and (presumably) ESA Mission Control each time JUICE is near Earth. The first panel is lift off. The second panel is the first flyby with the spacecraft asking which planet it should visit. The third panel is the second flyby, with the spacecraft asking which planet was Jupiter. The final panel is the last time JUICE is expected to visit Earth, asking which moons it should visit. In each case, it is implying that the JUICE is a little flighty.

The title text continues this joke further, making reference to its visit to Venus, with JUICE indicating it knew Venus wasn't Jupiter, but only because of the lack of moons.

Transcript

This is one of 37 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. You can help by editing the transcript!

[Panel labeled "April 2023". Earth is shown, and the Juice space probe is flying away from it, with dotted lines showing its path since liftoff.]

Mission Control person: We have liftoff! Juice is en route to explore the icy moons of Jupiter!

Juice: Wheee!

[Panel labeled "August 2024". Two images of Juice are shown, with dotted lines showing its path through space. One is to the left of Earth, the other to the right, and the path goes below Earth.]

First Juice: ...So which planet was I visiting again? I got distracted.

MC: Jupiter!

Second Juice: Right, OK.

[Panel labeled "September 2026". Two images of Juice again, this time the path goes above Earth.]

First Juice: Is Jupiter the one with all the rings? Or...

MC: No, the big one near it.

Sceond Juice: Got it!

[Panel labeled "January 2029". Juice is approaching Earth from the left.]

Juice: And which moons am I looking at?

MC: Oh my God.

MC: No I get why we budgeted for so many Earth flybys.

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Discussion

Juice is such a worser name than like juno TheTrainsKid (talk) 04:11, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

Could have been worse: MOIST = Moon Orbiter In Search of Trapped water. Barmar (talk) 04:33, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

I feel like the personality of the JuIcE rover may be a reference to 17776 but I may be mistaken. 2607:FB92:2681:8304:293A:9C3D:680A:1979 04:30, 29 September 2026 (UTC)GC
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