Only a few more days before being locked up under the cap ofAriadne 5 for its launch on April 13. For its departure to the frozen moons, the teams once again checked the condition of their extremely sensitive equipment. It is one of ESA’s most ambitious interplanetary missions.
No question of missing this first European take-off of the year.
Ergoliers, it’s up to you!
This week, JUICE is filling up. The European exploration probe, which will leave on April 13 (if all goes well) for its journey to the frozen moons of Jupiter, has reached the building where it will receive its maneuvering fuel. Nearly 3.5 tonnes of very effective but also very dangerous propellant (MON-MMH) that ArianeGroup technicians will have to patiently inject into the JUICE tanks. The ergoliers, with their suits worthy of astronauts, will have a lot to do… But this is the last stage. As soon as the interplanetary probe leaves the building (by the end of March), it will be to join the launcher adapter and put it under the fairing. The start of “combined operations” with Ariane 5 already waiting for it vertically: the teams have used significant margins in their schedule to be sure of being ready when the launch window opens for a departure to Jupiter .
Start of journey around the solar system
Indeed, it is quite correct to say that the ESA and Arianespace are waiting for the planets to be aligned. It will take several overflights to gain as much energy as possible with the gravitational assistance method before being able to reach the Jovian system… Which will justify the 8-year journey of the probe. A double Earth-Moon flyby in 2024, a Venus flyby in August 2025, then two other terrestrial flybys in 2026 and 2029 will help to gain speed to arrive close to Jupiter in July 2031, and study its moons… In particular Ganymede , the largest in the solar system. But before all that, we still have to successfully take off with Ariane 5. On April 7, JUICE and its fairing will be installed on the launcher, which will be taken to its launch area on the 11th or 12th. if all goes well, just hope for good weather!
The tension keeps on rising
The pressure is high on the shoulders of Arianegroup, for the penultimate of the Ariane 5 missions. And if the launcher has already succeeded in exceptional takeoffs, such as that of the Rosetta probe, from XMM-Newton, BepiColombo or of course the James Webb telescope, there is no question of complacency. The European flagship will have to do its job in a stressful 28 minutes before ejecting JUICE. A takeoff prepared for months and even years, because the rocket integrates some modifications specific to this type of mission (particular trajectory, balancing of pressures under fairing, particular device to remove the upper stage after ejection, etc.). Are those concerned confident? No, of course, the Airbus and ESA teams would already like to recover their “baby” intact and on the way to Jupiter, while scientists eagerly await the deployment of antennas and instruments. So far, however, everything is going as planned and each test has been satisfactory. Only 3 weeks left and a few hours of patience…
Source : nasaspaceflight
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