The European Space Agency's (ESA) JUICE spacecraft has taken advantage of Earth's gravity to fly by Venus , on a shortcut to Jupiter through inner Solar System space to successfully perform the world's first Earth - Moon flyby.
The flight was carried out on August 19 and 20. To change speed and direction in space, the JUICE spacecraft first used the Moon's gravity and then used the Earth's gravity.

JUICE accelerated by 0.9 km/s by flying past the Moon, faster than it did by flying past the Sun. Then, the spacecraft headed toward and flew past Earth, slowing JUICE by 4.8 km/s relative to the Sun and deflecting JUICE by 100 degrees from its previous trajectory, putting it on a new trajectory toward Venus.
Jupiter is an average of 800 million kilometers from Earth. It would take 60,000 kilograms of propellant to get JUICE straight to the giant planet without a very large rocket. This would require JUICE to carry a large amount of propellant to slow the spacecraft down enough to enter orbit around Jupiter when it arrives.
In April 2023, JUICE was launched into orbit on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
JUICE is expected to pass by Earth and Venus on its way to Jupiter on an eight-year journey.
The spacecraft will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three giant moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.