The Juice spacecraft, a European Space Agency mission to visit the icy moons of Jupiter, has just made a world’s first maneuver. This week, the craft swung back to Earth on its way to Jupiter and used both Earth and the moon’s gravity to slingshot it onward,

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft took a shortcut to the giant planet by way of the Earth and the moon

JUICE flew by Earth on Tuesday (Aug. 20), just a day after it zoomed past the moon. The spacecraft took also snapped some images of home before heading off to Venus.

Europe’s Juice spacecraft has completed the world’s first lunar-Earth flyby. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer — aka Juice — harnessed the gravity of Earth to sling itself in the direction of Venus. The route will provide a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner Solar System.

The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer flew past Earth on Aug. 20, capturing unique images along the way.

The European Space Agency’s Juice mission to study Jupiter’s icy moons conducted a daring double flyby of Earth and the moon to help it reach the largest planet in our solar system.

Juice spacecraft expertly navigated a tricky and world-first lunar-Earth gravitational flyby, setting its course for Jupiter and beyond.

ESA's Juice spacecraft completed a lunar-Earth flyby, using Earth's gravity to set course for Venus and ultimately Jupiter. The manoeuvre saved 100-150 kg of fuel, enabling closer study of Jupiter's moon Ganymede.