The Register gets up close and personal with ESA's JUICE spacecraft

The European Space Agency's (ESA) JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft has kicked off electromagnetic testing in the Airbus Defence and Space cleanrooms in Toulouse. The JUICE mission, which is due to launch on the very last Ariane 5 from French Guiana in April 2023, will spend nearly eight years cruising to Jupiter …

[The other JJ]

Life resembling art again?

"...the end of the mission will see JUICE sent crashing into the surface of Ganymede to avoid any contamination reaching Europa"

Because obviously:

"ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS – EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE"

[jonathan keith]

Re: Life resembling art again?

Also this:

"We have developed the spacecraft and the onboard software in particular to be able to detect failures, to isolate failures and to reconfigure them from failures," explains Cavel.

Expect JUICE to send this message at some point during Jupiter approach:

"I just picked up a fault in the AE-35 Unit."

[I am the liquor]

Re: Life resembling art again?

Came here expecting very first comment to be a 2010 reference; was not disappointed.

[Roger Kynaston]

JUICE

When I see that name I am reminded of that advertisement for wine gums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqCZe3WA-zE

As ever a seriously cool mission (again).

[Tom 7]

Re: JUICE

Not as cool as Webb's MIRA which got down to 6K! Looking forward to some first light

[Bitsminer]

Durability of spacecraft vs durability of humans

This mission was first suggested in the early 2000s (as the article mentions).

A proposal approved in 2012 means that the scientists finalized their proposal at least two years prior.

And to do that, they had to have some experience, and reputation amongst other planetary scientists. So, imagine they are in their 30s after a few years post-grad. At the earliest. Suppose then 34 years old.

The mission arrives 2031 and spends 4 years accumulating data.

They will be....click click...34 + (2031 - 2012) = 53 years old when the mission arrives. Twenty years is starting to look like the limit of mission duration because the scientific principal investigators will be too old (and forgetful?) to run the mission when it finally starts collecting data.

Assuming also they don't get bored waiting and wander off to grow grapes....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Durability of spacecraft vs durability of humans

They may be planning to make new scientists to replace the dead ones?

[ravenviz]

Yay! Science!

Plus immense boffinry!

Beers all round!

[Anonymous Coward]

In other space news...

NASA has announced that fine-phasing of the James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors is complete and a test image shows that the mirror is outperforming its specifications. This is good news. :-)

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-reaches-alignment-milestone-optics-working-successfully

[Potemkine!]

Don't contaminate Ganymede either

the end of the mission will see JUICE sent crashing into the surface of Ganymede to avoid any contamination reaching Europa.

IMNSHO, this is a mistake. We don't know enough of Ganymede to be sure there won't be any consequence of crashing on it a probe potentially harbouring bacteria. There's probably an ocean under Ganymede's surface: there may be an unknown form of life of Ganymede, working in a way we don't figure yet. Let's crash JUICE on Jupiter instead, it will be destroyed burning in its atmosphere.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Don't contaminate Ganymede either

Assume that the reason low orbit of Ganymede is the last stage is that they will no longer have fuel to get up out of that orbit. Thus either they impact Ganymede or they scrap whole low orbit part of mission (and perhaps even then they may not have fuel to deorbit from Jupiter orbit).

[Jimmy2Cows]

Re: Don't contaminate Ganymede either

Did wonder why they think Ganymede is worth taking a pumelling while Europa gets a pass. Didn't think of this. Thanks.

[MacroRodent]

Re: Don't contaminate Ganymede either

I wonder why they worry about that at all. Jupiter has famously fierce radiation belts. After wandering in the vicinity for years, the spacecraft is surely totally sterile.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Don't contaminate Ganymede either

yes, sterile ... apart from all the mutant radioactive spiders, viruses and nasty green creeping jelly things which are always such a problem on spacecraft. Also Michael Fabricant's hairs and one of Boris Johnson's countless spawn (though perhaps this is same as the hairs). Apart from those things, quite sterile.