European Space Agency Reports Jammed Antenna on Jupiter-Bound Spacecraft
Key Highlights :
The European Space Agency (ESA) reported on Friday that a critical antenna has jammed on a spacecraft bound for Jupiter, which was launched two weeks ago. The 52-foot (16-meter) radar antenna on Juice failed to unfold fully following liftoff, and engineers suspect that a tiny pin may be the culprit. Flight controllers in Germany are planning to fire the spacecraft's engine in order to shake the pin loose, but if that doesn't work, they have plenty of time to find a solution.
The Juice mission, which is also known as the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, won't reach the giant planet until 2031, as it is taking a roundabout path to get there, including gravity-assist flybys of Earth and the moon, and Venus. The radar antenna is necessary to investigate the icy crust of three Jupiter moons, which are suspected of harboring underground oceans and possibly life, a major goal of the mission.
The ESA noted that everything else is going well with the spacecraft, which is about the size of a small bus. A radio antenna, solar panels, and a 35-foot (10.6-meter) boom for measuring Jupiter's magnetic field have all been successfully deployed.
The mission, which has a budget of nearly $1.8 billion, is a significant undertaking for the ESA. If successful, it could yield important new information about the moons of Jupiter and their potential for harboring life. The agency is hoping that the pin can be dislodged without any further delays, as it would be a shame to see the mission fail due to a tiny piece of hardware.
