ESA troubleshooting JUICE radar antenna
Posted: Sat, May 6, 2023, 9:41 AM ET (1341 GMT)
ESA says it is troubleshooting a deployment issue with one of the instruments on its newly launched mission to Jupiter. The agency said Friday the antenna for a radar instrument on the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) had extended only a third of its planned 16-meter length. Engineers suspect a stuck pin is preventing the antenna from deploying to its full length. An upcoming thruster burn could shake the pin loose, the agency said, and a change in orientation will warm up the antenna, also potentially aiding in its deployment. The antenna is a key part of a radar instrument designed to probe below the icy surface of Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
ESA says it is troubleshooting a deployment issue with one of the instruments on its newly launched mission to Jupiter. The agency said Friday the antenna for a radar instrument on the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) had extended only a third of its planned 16-meter length. Engineers suspect a stuck pin is preventing the antenna from deploying to its full length. An upcoming thruster burn could shake the pin loose, the agency said, and a change in orientation will warm up the antenna, also potentially aiding in its deployment. The antenna is a key part of a radar instrument designed to probe below the icy surface of Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
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