Juice’s First Sip of Science From Space
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Loading... - Eduado Heito
- 27 Apr 2023
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ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully deployed its magnetometer boom (J-MAG), now actively collecting magnetic field data. The initial data suggests a successful deployment with the instrument soon to enter a more detailed commissioning phase. J-MAG will contribute to the study of Jupiter’s magnetic field and its icy moons once Juice reaches Jupiter in 2031.
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, has recorded magnetic field data as its 10.6 m-long magnetometer boom deployed.
Juice launched on April 14, with deployments and activation of its antennas, booms, sensors, and instruments ongoing over the next months in a dedicated check-out period known as the commissioning phase.
The plot shows the magnitude of the magnetic field from two sensors, as indicated by the red and turquoise lines, before (flat line) and during the deployment (curving lines). The two sensors are mounted on the outer segment of the boom and separated by about 3 m. The labels OBS and IBS indicate the data from the outboard (OBS) and inboard sensors (IBS), respectively. OBS is mounted close to the end of the 10.6 m boom.
The left side of the plot shows the field trace before the boom deployment. The sensors are up against the side of the spacecraft and OBS is located close to two spacecraft thrusters, which are quite magnetic, explaining the difference in the two field magnitudes. Read More..
