3 ms·

This was an intentional choice for efficiency and to allow more science at the destination, “the final flyby.. will be 3700 km from Earth in November 2026” [1]

This was an intentional choice for efficiency and to allow more science at the destination, “the final flyby.. will be 3700 km from Earth in November 2026” [1] Really disappointing that this is top comment tbh. [1] https://sci.esa.int/web/juice/-/58815-juices-journey-to-jupiter https://sci.esa.int/web/juice/-/58815-juices-journey-to-jupi...

twic 4y ago
What? How does getting there more slowly mean more science at the destination? And if so, why is Europa Clipper going to get there much faster?
- randallsquared 4y ago
  The trade-off for a given rocket is more spacecraft (and instruments to do science with) vs getting there faster.
- beebeepka 4y ago
  Maybe slower speed means more time spent in close proximity. Moving things don't exactly stop on their own in space. Or maybe they wanted more stuff on there
  - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
    It’s the latter.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > How does getting there more slowly mean more science at the destination? Mass. Small payload fast. Or large payload slower. (Also flyby vs. orbital insertion. If you’re going fast, you don’t get to loiter.)
- eep_social 4y ago
  Delta-v is a scarce resource!
- magicalhippo 4y ago
  Depends on what "more science" means, but one factor is that going fast means you need to burn a lot more fuel to slow down so you can get into orbit around the target planet. The mass of the fuel spent on breaking could be spent on other things, like extra instruments, or fuel for thrusters so you can orient more often and stay in orbit longer. For example, the Galileo[1], Cassini[2] and Dawn[3] missions ended primarily due to the probes running out of fuel. Perhaps not the best examples since they all had quite long runs, but still, more thruster fuel would probably have meant even longer missions. [1]: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/timeline/#journeys-end https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/timeline/#jour... [2]: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/grand-finale/overview/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/grand-... [3]: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-dawn-mission-to-asteroid-belt-comes-to-end https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-dawn-mission-to-asteroid...
- grey-area 4y ago
  Weight
zx14 4y ago
What is your problem? 8 years is a disappointingly long time.

twic 4y ago

What? How does getting there more slowly mean more science at the destination? And if so, why is Europa Clipper going to get there much faster?

randallsquared 4y ago
The trade-off for a given rocket is more spacecraft (and instruments to do science with) vs getting there faster.
beebeepka 4y ago
Maybe slower speed means more time spent in close proximity. Moving things don't exactly stop on their own in space. Or maybe they wanted more stuff on there
- DiggyJohnson 4y ago
  It’s the latter.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> How does getting there more slowly mean more science at the destination? Mass. Small payload fast. Or large payload slower. (Also flyby vs. orbital insertion. If you’re going fast, you don’t get to loiter.)
eep_social 4y ago
Delta-v is a scarce resource!
magicalhippo 4y ago
Depends on what "more science" means, but one factor is that going fast means you need to burn a lot more fuel to slow down so you can get into orbit around the target planet. The mass of the fuel spent on breaking could be spent on other things, like extra instruments, or fuel for thrusters so you can orient more often and stay in orbit longer. For example, the Galileo[1], Cassini[2] and Dawn[3] missions ended primarily due to the probes running out of fuel. Perhaps not the best examples since they all had quite long runs, but still, more thruster fuel would probably have meant even longer missions. [1]: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/timeline/#journeys-end https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/timeline/#jour... [2]: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/grand-finale/overview/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/grand-... [3]: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-dawn-mission-to-asteroid-belt-comes-to-end https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-dawn-mission-to-asteroid...
grey-area 4y ago
Weight

zx14 4y ago

What is your problem? 8 years is a disappointingly long time.