Photonis MCPs Are Flying to Jupiter aboard Juice Explorer!
The launch of Flight VGA260 of an Ariane 5 rocket on the 14th of April was a huge success!
The Juice Explorer spacecraft aboard the rocket is the first large-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision program. Juice is carrying the most powerful remote sensing, geophysical, and in-situ payload complement ever flown to the outer solar system.
This spacecraft’s payload consists of 11 scientific instruments to study all aspects of Jupiter and its icy moons. Two of these instruments rely on microchannel plates (MCPs) from Photonis for detection. To be precise, Photonis high-tech solutions are part of the deep-UV Imaging Spectrometer (UVS) instrument and a suite of subdetectors called the Particle Environment Package (PEP).
UVS will analyze the atmosphere of both Jupiter and its moons. This device is able to characterize the composition and dynamics of the exospheres of the icy moons, to study the Jovian aurorae, and to investigate the composition and structure of the planet’s upper atmosphere.
PEP will study the plasmas present in the Jovian system.
The mission is an eight-year cruise with flybys of Earth and Venus to slingshot it to Jupiter. While orbiting Jupiter, Juice will make 35 flybys of the three large moons. We’ll have to wait eight years to see these fantastic machines in action, but all involved are already excited after a perfectly smooth launch. Thanks to the many scientists all over the world who made this possible.
This ambitious mission will also discover more about these compelling destinations as potential habitats for past or present life.
Click the link for a video providing complete information on the mission with launch, videos, and interviews.
To request more information or a quotation for Photonis products, contact IL Photonics.