Jupiter probe “Juice” on course for success with Swiss instruments
Published: Saturday, Apr 13th 2024, 06:40
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The Jupiter probe "Juice" is on course one year after its launch. The mission has gone so well so far that more can be achieved scientifically than expected, Peter Wurz, who is involved in the mission, told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
"Juice" was launched into space on board an Ariane 5 rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on April 14, 2023.
After its arrival at the planet Jupiter in July 2031, the probe will search for traces of life under the icy surfaces of Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, among others.
Fuel saved
"Right from the start, everything went according to plan," said Wurz. He is Director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Bern. Under his leadership, a measuring device for the "Juice" mission was developed and built in Bern.
The probe caught the right trajectory and thus saved fuel that was planned for trajectory corrections. "This fuel can later be used for scientific purposes," says Wurz. How exactly the additional fuel will be used is currently being discussed. For example, more flybys of Jupiter's moons or a closer flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede are possible.
Antenna was a cause for concern
However, Wurz admitted that not everything went according to plan when the probe was launched. A 16-metre-long radar antenna called "Rime", which had been folded in for the launch, did not unfold properly. "That gave us a stomach ache for a few days," said Wurz. However, with an ingenious procedure in which the probe was turned towards the warming sun, this was still possible.
In one year, "Juice" has covered around 951,650,000 kilometers - over 2.5 million kilometers per day. However, the probe has only completed around 12 percent of its journey. This is because it reaches Jupiter via detours. In order to use as little energy as possible for the journey, it first orbits the sun several times to gain momentum.
Several Swiss institutions involved
In addition to the search for traces of life, the "Juice" mission is also intended to contribute to a general understanding of the formation of Jupiter. As the gas giant is the oldest planet in our solar system, an understanding of its formation is considered important for insights into the formation of the Earth. It is said that history is preserved in the ice on Jupiter's moons.
Specifically, the scientists are investigating the chemical composition of the moons. "Juice" will not land on the icy moons to take water samples directly, but will only fly past them.
From Switzerland, the University of Bern, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) are involved in the mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
©Keystone/SDA
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