On April 14, 2023, a sleek rocket took off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, in northeast South America. It blasted beyond Earth's atmosphere, soaring into the darkness of space. Onboard was a brand new space probe called the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice for short. Juice has an exciting trip ahead. It will travel through our solar system, with its sights set on reaching the planet Jupiter by July 2031. This probe will be so far from Earth-hundreds of millions of miles away—that it needs a 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) antenna to send information to us back home. It is also equipped with large solar panels to provide power. Once near Jupiter, Juice will embark on a planned four-year mission to study the planet and its mysterious icy moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) first spotted these moons along with Io (which isn't icy) in 1610. It seemed as if they were all too far from the Sun to have life. Space probes such as Galileo (1989-2003) and Cassini (1997-2017), however, have sparked fresh interest in the possibility of alien life on water-rich worlds. Galileo hinted at the existence of hidden oceans on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, and Cassini caught Saturn's moon Enceladus shooting water plumes into space.
Water Could Mean Life
Why is water such a big deal? "Scientists have spent decades looking for life in space, and they start by finding places with water," says Olivier Witasse. He is the project scientist for European Space Agency's Juice mission.
Esta historia es de la edición March 2024 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 2024 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.
