The JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) probe, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April 2023, passed about 8,640 kilometers from Earth on September 28, 2026. This was the second of several planned flybys, with a final one scheduled for January 2029 before the probe heads toward Jupiter. The maneuver uses Earth’s gravity to gain speed, which is crucial for the long journey to Jupiter. The Ariane 5 rocket that placed JUICE into orbit was not powerful enough to send a nearly six-ton probe directly to Jupiter, which would have required leaving Earth at 11 kilometers per second. Therefore, multiple flybys are needed to build up the required speed gradually. The closest approach occurred over the Indian Ocean at 1:45 p.m. Paris time. Earlier, between 15 and 30 minutes before the closest approach, JUICE passed from the northeast to the northwest of Australia. Amateur astronomers with telescopes or high-quality binoculars may have tried to track the probe. During the flyby, the probe gained approximately 3.5 kilometers per second, and its trajectory was deflected by about 20 degrees. These gravitational assists save fuel, which JUICE will need to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2031 and then around Ganymede in 2034. The probe will study Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, as well as Jupiter itself. ESA teams have been closely monitoring JUICE’s approach since August 17. Six trajectory correction windows were planned, but a single small maneuver four weeks before the flyby was enough to ensure the probe arrived with the correct speed and angle for optimal gravitational assistance. On the day of the flyby, teams were ready to launch a final emergency maneuver if needed due to navigation errors or a risk of collision with a satellite. If everything goes as planned, ESA will not need to use this contingency. From September 23 to October 3, the ten scientific instruments on JUICE will collect data on Earth and the Moon, similar to the 2024 flyby. The probe will spend several days in the "tail" of Earth’s magnetic field, which is stretched opposite the Sun. These measurements can be compared with those from the China-Europe mission SMILE, launched on May 19 to study interactions between Earth’s magnetic field and the solar wind. The navigation camera, which will later guide JUICE around Jupiter’s moons, will test a new optical navigation technique by targeting the lunar horizon. The two monitoring cameras will photograph the flyby until September 29, and ESA will publish the images on its website and social media. For the scientific teams, this flyby mainly serves to calibrate instruments and test analysis tools before arriving at Jupiter in 2031. During the flyby, JUICE’s cameras captured images of Earth and the Moon, with one color image showing much of Africa and a large part of the Indian Ocean. One report suggests the mission’s objectives may also include the small moon Callichore.