Europe’s mission to Jupiter is back on track almost a month after launch, after a jammed 16-metre-long radar antenna was finally deployed.
The JUICE spacecraft was scheduled to spend 17 days deploying its 10 mission-critical instruments after leaving Earth on April 14, but its RIME antenna (short for Radar for Icy Moons Explorer) was obstructed by a mounting bracket pin.
What you need to know about JUICE
JUICE mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, attempted to dislodge the pin by warming the ship’s surface, and later by a quick fuel burn to try and shake it free.
It finally succeeded by firing a mechanical device inside the bracket to shift the pin by millimetres.
RIME will survey the structure of Jupiter’s icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa to depths of nearly 10km below the surface.
With all instruments now deployed, JUICE will spend eight years building momentum through a series of gravity-assisted flybys of Earth, the Moon and Venus to hurl it towards Jupiter. It is scheduled to arrive at the solar system’s largest planet in 2031.
Are you interested in the energy industry and the technology and scientific developments that power it? Then our new email newsletter Energise, launching soon, is for you. Click here to become an inaugural subscriber.
Originally published by Cosmos as JUICE radar finally deployed by ESA mission control
Matthew Ward Agius
Matthew Agius is a science writer for Cosmos Magazine.
Read science facts, not fiction...
There’s never been a more important time to explain the facts, cherish evidence-based knowledge and to showcase the latest scientific, technological and engineering breakthroughs. Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. Financial contributions, however big or small, help us provide access to trusted science information at a time when the world needs it most. Please support us by making a donation or purchasing a subscription today.
