Borne by balloons: Testing JUICE's 10.6-metre boom
Date: 15 April 2021
Copyright: ESA–G. Porter
ESA's JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will launch in 2022 and travel to Jupiter, where it will study the gas giant and three of its largest icy moons. The spacecraft will carry a powerful payload of instruments for remote sensing, geophysical, and in situ observation, including an advanced magnetometer with which to measure Jupiter's magnetic environment.
In 2019, a test version of the 10.6-metre-long boom built for JUICE's magnetometer was tested at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This video shows the boom at extension, with its weight borne by balloons to simulate the weightless deployment conditions of space.
Last Update: 15 April 2021