Video shows ESA JUICE moons mission take-off

The European Space Agency successfully launched its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, nicknamed Juice, on Friday from French Guiana's Kourou spaceport. 

Juice will observe and study Jupiter's three largest moons, Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa, which are believed to contain vast water reserves and may potentially host life. The spacecraft will take eight years to reach Jupiter, and it will use gravitational slingshots from Earth, the moon, and Venus to help it on its journey. 

Prior to launch, children worldwide submitted artwork, and the winning design was added to the nose of the rocket carrying Juice.

Upon its arrival at Jupiter in July 2031, Juice will spend approximately three and a half years orbiting the gas giant and performing flybys of three of its moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. 

As the mission nears its end, Juice will concentrate exclusively on orbiting Ganymede, marking the first time that a spacecraft has orbited a moon in the outer solar system.

These three moons, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa, are covered in ice and could harbor subsurface oceans that may support life.