The Juice mission is a European Space Agency project to study the space environment around Earth and its impact on our planet. UK

Key Highlights :

1. The UK has led the development of one of the 10 instruments on the spacecraft, known as J-MAG.

2. J-MAG will measure the characteristics of the magnetic fields of Jupiter and its largest moon, Ganymede.

3. J-MAG will also play a key role in detecting moving salts in the oceans beneath the icy crusts of Ganymede as well as exploring Jupiter’s other moons, Europa and Callisto.

4. The data from J-MAG will help characterise the depth and salt content of Ganymede’s ocean, to see if it may hold the conditions for life.

     The ESA's Rosetta spacecraft has been orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since August 2014. During that time, the spacecraft has been collecting data on the comet's surface, interior and atmosphere. One of the 10 instruments on the spacecraft is the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) which is a collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. RPC is designed to study the comet's plasma environment.

     RPC consists of two parts: the Plasma Analyzer (PAN) and the Plasma Diagnostic Instrument (PDI). The PAN is a low-power instrument that measures the intensity, frequency and morphology of the plasma. The PDI is a high-power instrument that measures the plasma's temperature, density, and composition.

     The RPC has been collecting data on the comet since August 2014. The first data set was released in February 2015. The latest data set was released in December 2017. The data has been used to study the comet's plasma environment and to identify the sources of energy that are powering the comet's activity.

     The RPC is one of the 10 instruments on the spacecraft that has been leading the development. The other nine instruments are: the Rosetta Lander, the Philae Lander, the OSIRIS camera, the Rosetta Orbiter, the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter, the Comet Nucleus Camera, the Ion and Neutral Gas Analyzer, and the Rosetta Lander Magnetometer.

Continue Reading at Source : standarduk