JUICE – Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

As the first large-class mission within ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program, JUICE embarks on a journey to uncover answers to important questions about our solar system.

Mission Objective

Conduct a study of three of the Galilean moons of Jupiter – Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. The study will refer to the moons as both planetary entities and possible habitats. Furthermore, the study will involve an in-depth exploration of Jupiter’s environment and its system, serving as a prototype for gas giants throughout the Universe.

Mission Significance

• The Galilean moons are the four largest moons of Jupiter.
• These three moons, in particular, are believed to contain substantial liquid water reservoirs beneath their icy exteriors, suggesting the possibility of habitable environments.

Source: ESA

Engineering Challenges

There are several engineering challenges due to its location in space and long mission duration. First, Jupiter’s intense radiation environment requires durable shielding. Also, thermal control is equally complex, since sunlight at Jupiter is only about 4% of what reaches Earth, requiring highly efficient and complex thermal systems to compensate. As always, the instruments must keep stray light extremely low to detect faint signatures, making internal reflections and scattered light a major concern. More technical challenges related to telemetry, energy, and communication are adjusted to the mission’s location.

Instruments Characteristics

Jupiter lacks a solid surface. It consists mainly of swirling gases and liquids, making it impossible to land rovers or spacecraft on the planet. Therefore, the spacecraft’s design and payload are planned accordingly.

It’s instrument’s set includes remote sensing and in situ tools to conduct detailed observations of Jupiter and its moons.

JANUS (Camera System)

• Global and local morphology and processes on the moons.
• Cloud mapping on Jupiter.
• Observation of tropospheric cloud features.

MAJIS (Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer)

• Characterization of ice and minerals on the moons’ surfaces.

UVS (UV Imaging Spectrograph)

• Characterization of the exospheres of the moons.
• Study of the Jovian aurora.
• Investigation of the upper atmosphere.

SWI (Sub-millimeter Wave Instrument)

• Study of various characteristics of Jupiter’s stratosphere and troposphere.

GALA (Ganymede Laser Altimeter)

• Study of tidal deformation of Ganymede.
• Study of the morphology and topography of the moons’ surfaces.

RIME (Radar for Icy Moons Exploration)

• Study of the subsurface structure of the moons (down to 9 km depth, 50 m vertical resolution).

J-MAG (Magnetometer for JUICE)

• Characterization of the Jovian magnetic field.
• Study of moon–magnetosphere interactions.

PEP (Particle Environment Package)

• Study of energetic particles and plasma around Jupiter and its moons.

RPWI (Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation)

• Measurement of radio emissions and plasma waves in the Jovian system.

GM-3 (Gravity and Geophysics Experiment)

• Determination of the gravity fields of the moons.
• Investigation of internal structure via gravity measurements.

Source: ESA

Acktar’s Solution

Acktar provided Fractal Black and Magic Black coatings for various imaging instruments on JUICE (as listed below). Those ensured that minimal stray light will enter inside the optical and imaging systems, which is crucial for weak spectral signature detection.

Impact

Although JUICE is still in its cruise phase, the mission has already delivered valuable scientific returns during its gravity-assist flybys that confirm JUICE’s ability to detect subtle chemical and physical signatures. This is critical to the future exploration of the moons and for the mission’s main objective.

Visualization of JUICE’s timeline. Source: ESA

Where is JUICE now? Click here to find out!

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