Space: Greek smoothie will be “launched” into orbit along with the JUICE mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) has invited everyone to create a drink inspired by the JUICE space mission, which is scheduled to launch on Thursday 13 April. Among the top ten creations is a Greek work by student Eleni Kutsiona.

However, the space mission did not borrow its name “from some juice.” Its name, JUICE, is short for Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer.

The groundbreaking mission is expected to reach our solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, in eight years to make detailed observations. It will also make 35 close passes around three moons, namely Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, over a period of three years before entering orbit around Ganymede.

ESA invited interested parties to prepare a non-alcoholic cocktail and the winner of the most original recipe will be invited to the ESA Control Center in Darmstadt in Germany to watch the launch of JUICE.

As a result, 70 papers were submitted. The contestants were inspired by the space odyssey, French Guiana (where the launch will take place), the mission’s science objectives, the celestial bodies it will visit, and space travel in general. Enthusiasts created the original juices, smoothies, iced coffees and iced teas and, as the ESA notes in a statement, “recreated the inner structure of the moons with layers of frozen fruit, ice and yogurt. Jupiter and its seething hazy atmosphere have also been uniquely captured with color-changing drinks.”. The winning entry was inspired by the geology of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

IN The smoothie of the Greek student Eleni Kutsiona, which was especially noted by the jury in two parameters, got into the final ten. First, a physics student at the University of Crete laid out fruit and berry smoothie layers in a glass in a ratio of 1:2:4 to capture the coordination of the orbits of three satellites: when Ganymede makes one revolution around Jupiter, Europa makes two, and Io (the third largest moon Jupiter, with intense volcanic activity) four. The second feature of the recipe was laying out waffles on top of a smoothie in a shape resembling solar panels that will be installed on a spaceship.

While studying at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Crete, Eleni Kutsiona has a particular interest in the field of astrophysics, and also participates in the astronomy group of university students. The 23-year-old student follows ESA news and reads everything about the mission. Thus, she learned about the competition and decided to take part in it. The determined girl was motivated by the prize because if she had won, she could have had the experience of watching a spacecraft launch right from mission control.

“I would visit any mission, but this one in particular is very interesting in terms of the hypothesis that one of the moons of Jupiter may have life. The idea that there is a place in our solar system outside the Earth where life could be is very interesting. And this, in particular, is what this mission will study. It’s very exciting…” she says.

It took about a month to develop and implement the smoothie. “I read everything I could about the mission, Jupiter and its moons, and wrote down everything I thought I could turn into a recipe and ingredients. I found the ingredients in the supermarket because I wanted to make a relatively cheap and simple smoothie with fruit, so that everyone can freely prepare it, ”says the student.

The smoothie recipe was inspired by many aspects of the space mission. For its preparation, Eleni used as many materials as there are scientific instruments that will be on the spacecraft. In addition, she chose red, yellow and orange fruits (in a ratio of 1:2:4 in layers) to resemble the colors of Jupiter.

In addition, ice and sparkling water (with bubbles) are reminiscent of underground churning oceans and the frozen surface of three moons. The recipe also includes yogurt (“Greek yogurt,” as it is called around the world), a reference to the names of Jupiter itself and the moons taken from Greek mythology. At the end, Eleni Kutsiona placed a spaceship-shaped waffle on a smoothie cup and drew the ESA logo with confectionery ink.

She may not have won first place, but the young student says she is happy to be in the top ten. The winners will reportedly receive commemorative gifts from the mission and ESA.

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