![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
. | ![]() |
. |
![]() by Staff Writers Stockholm, Sweden (SPX) Nov 19, 2020
The Swedish-led satellite instrument Particle Environment Package (PEP) will help researchers at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) to understand how three of Jupiter's icy moons are affected by the particles around Jupiter and search for the pre-conditions for life. After 14 years of work, the instrument is ready to take its place on ESA's Jupiter spacecraft JUICE. Prof. Stas Barbash is the Principal Investigator for the instrument Particle Environment Package (PEP) on board the European Space Agency's spacecraft JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer). The instrument is the most advanced that IRF has so far constructed and consists of six sensors, two of which have been developed and built at the IRF head office in Kiruna. The instrument will measure particles around Jupiter and the three icy moons Europa, Callisto and Ganymede and thus contribute to the large puzzle that needs to be put together to understand the complex Jupiter system. "Icy moons are the most exciting objects in the solar system to study. The dream would of course be to discover a small crack in the ice on the moon Europa through which water from the sea under the ice squirts out. Maybe it's a favorable environment for life under the ice? To fly through the cloud of steam, measure in it and succeed in identifying some kind of trace of life. That would of course be fantastic ", says Stas Barabash. One of the major challenges for the engineers and scientists who built PEP has been to develop sensors that can perform measurements in an environment that, due to Jupiter's enormous magnetic field, has the strongest radiation in the solar system. "The radiation doses to which the instrument is exposed can be compared to being in the middle of a collapsed Chernobyl reactor for a short time. Sweden delivers an instrument that not only has to get to this extreme space environment, but also survive in it to provide researchers with unique data ", says Stas Barabash. For IRF, it is a unique situation that ESA has selected one country and one institute to deliver two of a total of ten instruments on JUICE. IRF's Uppsala office is responsible for the second instrument. Eleven countries in Europe, the USA and Japan contribute to PEP. JUICE will be launched from French Guiana in June 2022 on board an Ariane-5 rocket. In 2033, the project will end with the spacecraft crashing on the surface of the moon Ganymede. The work with PEP is done with funding from the Swedish National Space Agency.
![]() ![]() Researchers model source of eruption on Jupiter's moon Europa Stanford CA (SPX) Nov 11, 2020 On Jupiter's icy moon Europa, powerful eruptions may spew into space, raising questions among hopeful astrobiologists on Earth: What would blast out from miles-high plumes? Could they contain signs of extraterrestrial life? And where in Europa would they originate? A new explanation now points to a source closer to the frozen surface than might be expected. Rather than originating from deep within Europa's oceans, some eruptions may originate from water pockets embedded in the icy shell itself, ac ... read more
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |