SwRI's UVS Instrument on Jupiter-Bound Spacecraft Passes Critical In-Flight Test

SwRI's UVS Instrument on Jupiter-Bound Spacecraft Passes Critical In-Flight Test
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2024

As the European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft completed its gravity assist maneuver around the Earth and Moon in August, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instrument successfully captured ultraviolet emissions from both celestial bodies. This event marked an important milestone in validating the instrument's performance.

UVS, one of three NASA-led instruments aboard Juice, collected data during the flyby that matched expectations for Earth's and the Moon's UV emissions. These results confirmed that the instrument is functioning as intended-something that could not be fully verified during pre-launch lab testing. "This high-fidelity test confirmed what the instrument is supposed to do. We can now be confident that the data we will get from Jupiter's moons will be just as accurate," said Steven Persyn, Juice-UVS project manager at SwRI.

UVS, weighing just over 40 pounds and consuming 7.5 watts of power, is a compact yet powerful tool. It will measure the concentrations of various elements and molecules in the atmospheres of Jupiter's moons when the spacecraft reaches the Jovian system. The instrument will also examine Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto-moons believed to harbor liquid water beneath their icy exteriors-by recording ultraviolet light emitted and reflected from these moons to determine their surface and atmospheric compositions.

As Juice continues its journey to Venus for another gravity assist maneuver, the spacecraft is undergoing rigorous system checks, including the activation of its antennas, booms, sensors, and instruments. UVS, being one of 10 scientific instruments aboard Juice, is integral to the mission's exploration of Jupiter's environment, particularly Ganymede, a moon with an internal magnetic field and auroras similar to those on Earth.

A similar UVS instrument will travel on NASA's Europa Clipper, scheduled to arrive in the Jupiter system 15 months before Juice. "Our UVS instrument will complement the work that will be done by Europa-UVS allowing us to learn even more at the same time," said Dr. Kurt Retherford, principal investigator of Europa-UVS and deputy principal investigator for Juice-UVS at SwRI. The collaboration between the two missions will enhance understanding of the Jovian moons, especially their potential habitability.