Ganymede (moon) be launched in 2024, though this schedule might be revised and aligned with JUICE. A Ganymede orbiter based on the Juno probe was proposed in 2010 for the Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Possible instruments include Medium Resolution Camera, Flux Gate Magnetometer, Visible/NIR Imaging Spectrometer, Laser Altimeter, Low and High Energy Plasma Packages, Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer, UV Imaging Spectrometer, Radio and Plasma Wave sensor, Narrow Angle Camera, and a Sub-Surface Radar. Another canceled proposal to orbit Ganymede was the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter. It was designed to use nuclear fission for power, ion engine propulsion, and would have studied
Orbit of the Moon Orbit of the Moon The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the stars in about 27.32 days (a sidereal month) and one revolution relative to the Sun in about 29.53 days (a synodic month). Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycenter (common center of mass), which lies about from Earth's center (about of the radius of Earth). On average, the distance to the Moon is about from Earth's center, which corresponds to about 60 Earth radii. With a mean orbital velocity of 1.022 km/s (0.635 miles/s), the Moon covers a distance approximately