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JUICE Mission's RIME Transmitter Exits Thermal Chamber

Sept. 21, 2020
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and shipped the receiver, transmitter, and electronics necessary to complete the radar instrument for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, set to launch in 2022.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and shipped the receiver, transmitter and electronics necessary to complete the radar instrument for ESA's (European Space Agency's) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. Set to launch in 2022, JUICE will explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons.

The transmitter works by sending out radio waves, which can penetrate surfaces of icy moons so that scientists "see" underneath. The instrument, called Radar for Icy Moon Exploration, or RIME, is a collaboration by JPL and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and is one of ten instruments that will fly aboard.

This photo, shot at JPL on July 23, 2020, shows the transmitter as it exits a thermal vacuum chamber. The test is one of several designed to ensure the hardware can survive the conditions of space travel. The thermal chamber simulates deep space by creating a vacuum and by varying the temperatures to match those the instrument will experience over the life of the mission.

More RIME test photos can be seen here PIA24024 and here PIA24026.

For more information about the JUICE mission, visit: http://sci.esa.int/juice.

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