The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft has taken its first "selfies" from space, catching stunning images with Earth as a backdrop.
The images were taken in the hours following the European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft's departure from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on Friday, April 14 at 8:14 a.m. EDT (1214 GMT). JUICE lifted off atop an Ariane 5 rocket after missing its previous launch window on Thursday, 13 April due to poor weather conditions.
The spacecraft is equipped with several cameras, including two mounted on its body for monitoring the deployment of various JUICE systems, such as the solar wings and antennas. These cameras are responsible for these initial selfies providing 1024 x 1024 pixel snapshots that are then processed with a slight color adjustment.
Source: www.space.com
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