About ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Highlights
Latest
Space in Member States
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Czechia
Romania
United Kingdom
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Science & Exploration
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicAstronauts
Latest
Enabling & Support
Making space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicLatest
Listen to Juice’s flyby of Earth
In space nobody can hear you scream. There might be no soundwaves but there are plenty of other kinds of waves!
On 20 August 2024, Juice flew past Earth with a closest approach of just 6840 km. The aim was to change Juice’s speed and direction, helping to guide it on its journey to Jupiter.
ESA also took the opportunity to activate Juice’s science instruments. This gave scientists the chance to collect data from a planet for the first time in space, helping them calibrate their instruments and make sure that they are 100% ready for arrival at Jupiter.
One of the instruments switched on was the Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI), designed to measure the radio emission and plasma environment of Jupiter and its icy moons.
As Juice flew past Earth, RPWI ‘listened’ to radio waves from our home planet and from the Sun. The team then combined this data into an audio soundtrack, allowing us to ‘hear’ the radio wave environment around Earth.
Right at the beginning of the track, we hear roaring radio bursts from the northern and southern lights (auroras). During the middle part of the track, as Juice passed closest to Earth, we hear an increasing then decreasing tone representing the radio emissions from electrons surrounding our home planet flying close to the RPWI antennas. Finally at the end of the track we hear some laser-esque ‘pew’ noises – these represent radio bursts produced by electrons flying from the Sun.
Juice's Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation commissioned
Celebrating RPWI deployment
Juice comes to life (artist’s impression)
Juice comes to life (artist’s impression)
