Visibility problems of the Euclid space telescope solved
Published: Tuesday, Mar 26th 2024, 16:10
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The Euclid space telescope can see clearly again. The de-icing of the telescope was more successful than expected, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday.
A week ago, the ESA announced that a wafer-thin layer of ice on the telescope's optics was causing problems. This affected the "Visible Instrument" measuring device, parts of which were developed in Switzerland.
According to the ESA, the researchers spent months working on a procedure to get rid of the ice without damaging the telescope: After all, de-icing a telescope around 1.5 million kilometers away was no easy task.
Success at the first attempt
In the end, individual parts of the spacecraft were heated using the on-board heaters. It would have been easier to heat the entire probe to free it from frozen water. However, according to the ESA, this would have entailed the risk of important components expanding and not returning exactly to their original shape.
"After the very first mirror was heated by just 34 degrees, Euclid's vision was restored," the ESA now wrote. So nothing stands in the way of the mission.
Swiss institutions involved
The Euclid probe was launched into space in July 2023. The aim of the mission is to create the most comprehensive 3D map of the universe to date. ESA wants to take a look into the past of the universe and explore its development over the last ten billion years.
Swiss research institutes are also significantly involved in the mission. These include the University of Zurich (UZH), the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Geneva (Unige).
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