The JUICE probe team to the Jupiter system succeeded in placing the RIME radar antenna on it. In this respect informs European Space Agency.
Initially, the antenna was supposed to be deployed on April 13, but even by the end of that month it only opened a third. The 16-metre device was folded in preparation for launch as it would not fit under the cladding, the deployment being hindered by a non-retractable pin, according to experts. For a long time, the engineers tried to start the engine, swinging the probe and heating the bracket on which the antenna was fixed, by directing it towards the Sun. This did not lead to success until the “non-pyrotechnic drive” in the stuck elbow was activated on 12 May. The resulting impact apparently moved the pin and allowed the antenna to rotate. The agency did not report any other issues with the device.
JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) was launched on April 14, 2023 and is expected to reach the Jupiter system in 2031 through a series of gravity assist maneuvers. It is equipped with cameras and spectrographs for chemical analysis of the matter of Jupiter and its moons, but the most important instrument is the RIME radar, which will have to look miles under the ice of Europa, Callisto and Ganymede and explore the oceans. (and see if there is) in.
Previously within the four moons of Uranus, scientists probably discovered ocean.