ESA - Work continues to deploy Juice RIME antenna

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/var/esa/cache/public/stylesheets/c35b41a32fb01cc5cc5a0efcc8ca483e_1685535780_all.css" /> <link href="/fontawesome/css/fontawesome.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/fontawesome/css/brands.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/fontawesome/css/solid.css" rel="stylesheet"> <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.2.4.min.js" integrity="sha256-BbhdlvQf/xTY9gja0Dq3HiwQF8LaCRTXxZKRutelT44=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/var/esa/cache/public/javascript/ec3756e8a47adc0f64e3c43418bca85a_1729093166.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <meta property="og:title" content="Work continues to deploy Juice RIME antenna"> <title>ESA - Work continues to deploy Juice RIME antenna</title> <meta name="description" content="Juice鈥檚 ice-penetrating RIME antenna has not yet been deployed as planned. During the first week of commissioning, an issue arose with the 16-metre-long Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) antenna, which is preventing it from being released from its mounting bracket."> <meta property="og:description" content="Juice鈥檚 ice-penetrating RIME antenna has not yet been deployed as planned. During the first week of commissioning, an issue arose with the 16-metre-long Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) antenna, which is preventing it from being released from its mounting bracket."> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2023/04/juice_s_wriggling_rime_antenna/24856760-1-eng-GB/Juice_s_wriggling_RIME_antenna_pillars.gif"> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@esa"> <script> var _paq = window._paq = window._paq || []; _paq.push(["setDomains", ["*.www.esa.int","*.www.esa.int"]]); _paq.push(["enableCrossDomainLinking"]); _paq.push(['trackPageView']); _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']); (function() { var u="https://www-analytics.esa.int/"; _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']); _paq.push(['setSiteId', '46']); var d=document, g=d.createElement('script'), s=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; g.type='text/javascript'; g.async=true; g.src=u+'matomo.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s);})(); </script> </head> <body> <div class="wrapper popmod"> <div id="cookie_loc"></div> <section id="esa-header" class="esa-header exploring-discovering"> <div class="esa-header__left"> <button id="esa-menu" class="esa-header__toggle menu-toggle"> <img class="esa-header__icon" src="/extension/pillars/design/pillars/images/ESA_Menu.svg" alt="ESA menu toggle"> </button> <button id="esa-search" class="esa-header__toggle search-toggle"> <img class="esa-header__icon" src="/extension/pillars/design/pillars/images/ESA_Search.svg" alt="ESA search toggle"> </button> <img class="esa-header__title" src="/extension/pillars/design/pillars/images/ESA_Title.svg" alt="ESA title"> </div> <div class="esa-header__right"> <a class="esa-header__link" href="/"> <img class="esa-header__logo" src="/extension/pillars/design/pillars/images/ESA_Logo.svg" alt="ESA logo"> </a> </div> </section> <form class="quick-search" action="/esearch"> <input class="quick-search__field" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search ESA"> <button class="quick-search__submit" type="submit"><i class="far fa-arrow-right"></i></button> </form> <script> try { iniframe = window.self !== window.top;} catch (e) { iniframe = true;}if (!iniframe) {theme = 'exploring-discovering'; $.get('/var/esa/storage/menu_overlay.html', for_overlay_menu);}</script> <section id="overlay-menu"></section> <script> $.post( '/ezjscore/call', "ezjscServer_function_arguments=esaux::viewsincr::478222", function(data) { $(document).ready(function() { $('#viewcount').text(data) }) }) </script> <section class="feature feature--article"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/04/Juice_s_wriggling_RIME_antenna" class="popup"> <img class="image-bg stellar" src="/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2023/04/juice_s_wriggling_rime_antenna/24856760-1-eng-GB/Juice_s_wriggling_RIME_antenna_pillars.gif" alt="Juice鈥檚 wriggling RIME antenna" data-stellar-ratio="0.7" data-stellar-vertical-offset="60"> </a> </section> <article class="article exploring-discovering"> <header class="entry article__block"> <span class="pillar article__item">Science & Exploration</span> <h1 class="heading heading--main article__item">Work continues to deploy Juice RIME antenna</h1> <div class="meta article__item"> <span>28/04/2023</span> <span><span id="viewcount">33423</span><small> views</small></span> <span><span id="ezsr_total_24856740">225</span><small> likes</small></span> </div> </header> <div class="breadcrumbs article__block article__item"> <a class="breadcrumbs__entry" href="/">ESA</a> / <a class="breadcrumbs__entry" href="/Science_Exploration">Science & Exploration</a> / <a class="breadcrumbs__entry" href="/Science_Exploration/Space_Science">Space Science</a> / <a class="breadcrumbs__entry" href="/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice">Juice</a></div> <div class="abstract article__block article__item"> <p>Juice鈥檚 ice-penetrating RIME antenna has not yet been deployed as planned. During the first week of commissioning, an issue arose with the 16-metre-long Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) antenna, which is preventing it from being released from its mounting bracket.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <p>Work continues to free the radar and teams at ESA鈥檚 mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, along with partners in science and industry, have lots of ideas up their sleeves.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <figure class="article__image article__image--right"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/04/Juice_s_longest_antenna_awaits_deployment" class="popup"> <img src="/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2023/04/juice_s_longest_antenna_awaits_deployment/24834778-5-eng-GB/Juice_s_longest_antenna_awaits_deployment_article.png" alt="Juice鈥檚 longest antenna awaits deployment"> </a> <figcaption class="image__caption"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/04/Juice_s_longest_antenna_awaits_deployment">Juice鈥檚 longest antenna awaits deployment</a> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Every day the RIME antenna shows more signs of movement, visible in images from the Juice Monitoring Camera on board the spacecraft with a partial view of the radar and its mount. Now partially extended but still stowed away, the radar is roughly a third of its full intended length.</p><p>The current leading hypothesis is that a tiny stuck pin has not yet made way for the antenna鈥檚 release. In this case, it is thought that just a matter of millimetres could make the difference to set the rest of the radar free.</p><p>Various options are still available to nudge the important instrument out of its current position. The next steps to fully deploy the antenna include an engine burn to shake the spacecraft a little followed by a series of rotations that will turn Juice, warming up the mount and radar, which are currently in the cold shadows.</p><p>Juice is otherwise performing excellently after the successful deployment and operation of its mission-critical solar arrays and medium gain antenna, as well as its 10.6-m magnetometer boom.</p> </div> <div class="article__block"> <figure class="article__image article__image--left"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/04/Testing_Juice_s_RIME_antenna_in_the_Hertz_facility" class="popup"> <img src="/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2023/04/testing_juice_s_rime_antenna_in_the_hertz_facility/24856924-1-eng-GB/Testing_Juice_s_RIME_antenna_in_the_Hertz_facility_article.jpg" alt="Testing Juice's RIME antenna in the Hertz facility"> </a> <figcaption class="image__caption"> <a href="/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/04/Testing_Juice_s_RIME_antenna_in_the_Hertz_facility">Testing Juice's RIME antenna in the Hertz facility</a> </figcaption> </figure> <p>With two months of planned commissioning remaining, there is plenty of time for teams to get to the bottom of the RIME deployment issue and continue work on the rest of the powerful suite of instruments on their way to investigate the outer Solar System.</p><p>Updates will be shared as new information becomes available.</p><p>The RIME instrument is an ice-penetrating radar designed to study the surface and subsurface structure of Jupiter鈥檚 icy moons down to a depth of 9 km.</p><p>It is one of ten instruments on board ESA鈥檚 Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice">Juice</a>, set to investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the formation of our Solar System.</p><p>If you have further questions, please contact <a href="mailto:media@esa.int">media@esa.int</a>.</p> </div> <div class="share button-group article__block article__item"> <button id="ezsr_24856740_6_5" class="btn ezsr-star-rating-enabled" title="Like">Like</button> <p id="ezsr_just_rated_24856740" class="ezsr-just-rated hide">Thank you for liking</p> <p id="ezsr_has_rated_24856740" class="ezsr-has-rated hide">You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!</p> <div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_default_style"> <a class="a2a_button_x"></a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a> <a class="a2a_button_copy_link"></a> <a class="a2a_dd" href=https://www.addtoany.com/share></a> </div> </div> </article> <section id="footer"> <span class="footer__signature">European Space Agency</span> <div class="footer-nav"> <a href="/Services/Frequently_asked_questions">FAQ</a> <a href="/Services/Contacts">Contacts</a> <a href="/Services/Terms_and_conditions">Terms and conditions</a> <a href="/Services/Privacy_notice">Privacy notice</a> <a href="/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA">Careers at ESA</a> <a href="/Services/Email_updates">Subscribe </a> </div> <div class="social-media-links"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ESA" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-youtube"></i></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/esa" target="_blank"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></i></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/europeanspaceagency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-instagram"></i></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-space-agency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-linkedin-in"></i></a> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/EuropeanSpaceAgency/" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-pinterest"></i></a> </div> </section> <section id="popup-modal"></section></div> <script> if (jQuery.cookie('cc_cookie_accept') == "cc_cookie_accept") { var s = document.createElement("script"); s.src = "https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"; document.body.appendChild(s); }</script>  </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

ESA - Work continues to deploy Juice RIME antenna