Articles | Volume 44, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-1243-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-1243-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Planning of the JUICE/JANUS camera observations during the first ever Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist
INAF, Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), Rome, Italy
Luca Penasa
INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Padova (OAPD), Padova, Italy
Livio Agostini
INAF, Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), Rome, Italy
Alessio Aboudan
CISAS “G. Colombo”, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Michael Aye
Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Klaus-Dieter Matz
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Matthew Read
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Thomas Bilotta
Leonardo S.p.A., Campi Bisenzio, Italy
Ricardo Hueso
Bilbao School of Engineering, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, Bilbao, Spain
Alice Lucchetti
INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Padova (OAPD), Padova, Italy
Elke Kersten
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Romolo Politi
INAF, Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), Rome, Italy
Ganna Portyankina
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Benoit Seignovert
OSUNA, UAR-3281, LPG UMR-6112, CNRS, Nantes Universite, Nantes, France
Frank Trauthan
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Angelo Zinzi
Italian Space Agency (ASI), Rome, Italy
Ry Evill
European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), European Space Agency (ESA), Darmstadt, Germany
Angela Dietz
European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), European Space Agency (ESA), Darmstadt, Germany
Ines Belgacem
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency (ESA), Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Thomas Cornet
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency (ESA), Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Jose María Castro-Marin
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Granada, Spain
Vincenzo Della Corte
INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (OACN), Napoli, Italy
Stubbe Hviid
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Thomas Roatsch
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Nicole Schmitz
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Manish R. Patel
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Luisa M. Lara
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Granada, Spain
Pasquale Palumbo
INAF, Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), Rome, Italy
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2032, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2032, 2026
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François Poulet, Giuseppe Piccioni, Yves Langevin, Cydalise Dumesnil, Vincent Carlier, Benoit Seignovert, Marc Dexet, Leigh N. Fletcher, Cédric Leyrat, Francesca Altieri, John Carter, Emiliano D'Aversa, Maria De Sanctis, Davide Grassi, Sandrine Guerlet, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Alessandra Migliorini, Fabrizio Oliva, Clément Royer, Sébastien Rodriguez, Katrin Stephan, Federico Tosi, Francesca Zambon, Alberto Adriani, Gabriele Arnold, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Dominique Bockelée, Rosario Brunetto, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Cristian Carli, Thibault Cavalié, Miriam Cisneros González, Mauro Ciarnello, Simone De Angelis, Pierre Drossart, Gianrico Filacchione, Thierry Fouchet, Jean-Claude Gérard, Denis Grodent, Patrick Irwin, Sophie Jacquinod, Ozgur Karatekin, Emmanuel Lellouch, Nicolas Ligier, Nicolas Mangold, Magali Mebsout, Frédéric Merlin, Alessandro Morbidelli, Alessandro Mura, Andreas Nathues, Maria E. Palumbo, Cédric Pilorget, Olivier Poch, Eric Quirico, Andrea Raponi, Séverine Robert, Elias Roussos, Agustin Sanchez-Lavega, Bernard Schmitt, Giuseppe Sindoni, Marcel Snels, Roberto Sordini, Stefania Stefani, Giovanni Strazzulla, Tim Trent, Gabriel Tobie, Diego Turrini, Ann-Carine Vandaele, Mathieu Vincendon, Olivier Witasse, Claire Vallat, and Alessandro Moraino
Ann. Geophys., 44, 163–193, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-163-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-163-2026, 2026
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During the double Lunar-Earth Gravitational Assist with the ESA/JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft in August 2024, we acquired hyperspectral data cubes of both the Moon and Earth with the MAJIS (Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer) imaging spectrometer under challenging, real in-flight conditions. This allowed to characterize surface materials and thermophysical properties on the Moon, identify various cloud phases and gases in Earth's atmosphere, and thoroughly validate the performance of the instrument.
Elke Kersten, Klaus Gwinner, Gregory Michael, Alexander Dumke, Jonas Bostelmann, Ralf Jaumann, and HRSC GTMTG
Abstr. Int. Cartogr. Assoc., 3, 147, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-3-147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-3-147-2021, 2021
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Short summary
This paper describes the observations of Moon and the Earth by the Jovis Amorum ac Natorum Undique Scrutator camera (JANUS) during Lunar Earth Gravity Assist (LEGA) in 2024 by the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft. We describe the observation sequences and constraints that were considered during the design process. We highlight the lessons learned from the relevant observational campaigns and the importance of science activities during the long cruise phase of planetary missions.
This paper describes the observations of Moon and the Earth by the Jovis Amorum ac Natorum...