Global geopolitics has driven activity at the French Guiana launch facilities, from where the ESA has many space missions of undeniable scientific interest scheduled.
We've all seen the famous Apollo spacecraft liftoffs from Cape Canaveral on television, and surely we've dreamed of being in the control room and hearing the countdown live, with those anxious T-minus 5 minutes before launch.
But perhaps they aren't that well known launches from French Guiana, which also tends to be the launchpad for missions developed by the ESA, and which usually involve European countries. In fact, if we're able to secure a flight to cross the 6,379 km distance (a bit more than the Earth's mean radius!) that separates Europe from the launch point in South America, we will be able to be in person in the mission control room for the next great milestone in astronautics. We will simply have to catch “quote” in this link.
And what are the next launches that are planned? The answer is many and very diverse, but those that are part of the ESA and have some scientific or technological interest are the following:
- Biomass Mission (Ground observation) Q3 2023
- Mission: EarthCARE (Ground observation) Q1 2024
- Mission Euclid (Scientific Interest) Q1 2023
- ExoMars RSP Mission (Planetary Science) 2028
- Mission Flex Ground observation Q2 2025
- Mission Juice (Planetary Science) Q2 2023
- Mission Plate (Scientific Interest) 2026
- Sentinel Mission / Copernicus (Earth observation) 2028
- Arial Mission (Scientific interest) 2029
Of those with a closer time horizon, let us approach The Euclid and Juice missions. Let's look at some of its features and the trajectory that will lead it to enter the launch window, or to have to be delayed for various reasons (as happened recently with ExoMars and other missions, due to the war in Ukraine and the impossibility of using Soyuz platforms).
On 24 January 2013, NASA and ESA signed a cooperation agreement for their participation in the Euclid mission. The purpose was clear: To build a telescope for observing the dark energy and dark matter that populate deep space, y poder to better understand the expansion of the universe and its acceleration. To do this, they will make use of several visible and near-infrared cameras, of several million pixels, in such a way that the combined images could give measurements up to 10 times more accurate than their predecessors of the phenomenon known as “redshift” (redshift). The measurement of this deviation in the invisible spectrum by the Doppler effect phenomenon of light gives a measurement of the expansion speed of the universe, and with it, the amount of dark energy and matter that prevents the speed from being higher or lower can be inferred.
Some additional details about this spectacular telescope are:
- The solar panels will be equipped with a stabilisation system that will allow them to orient themselves and point with an accuracy of milliarcseconds, i.e. 0.001 arcseconds, or in other words, less than 5 nanoradians.
- The visible spectrum will be covered by a 6x6 camera array, with a sensitivity of 600 million pixels.
- The near-infrared spectrum will be equipped with 4 x 4 cameras in the 1000 to 2000 nanometre spectrum, with a combined power of 65 million pixels.
- The telecommunications system will be capable of transmitting 850 gigabits per day to Earth. It will use the Ka microwave band at a rate of 55 megabits per second during the 4 hours that its 35-metre parabolic antenna will be visible from the Cebreros ground station, in Spain.
- The onboard data storage capacity will be 300 GB, in order to accumulate data during occasional transmission impossibilities to Earth.
On the other hand, we have the Juice mission, which intends explore Jupiter's icy moons, studying the possibility of solid water on their surfaces and the composition of their atmosphere. It will also analyse the magnetic field generated by its host, the largest planet in our solar system, which is in some ways similar to Earth's, and may provide further theories on its generation and the constitution of its inner core.
The space manoeuvre proposed for Juice, if its launch takes place in April 2023 as planned, will have it pass twice through the asteroid belt existing between Mars and Jupiter, as well as several impulsive flights or gravitational assists (flyby) between Earth and other celestial bodies (The Moon, Venus and Mars). Its final return to Earth is expected to occur in 2029, reaching its destination in July 2031. At that time, it will enter a circular orbit to study the Galileo moon system (it will be studied Ganymede, Calisto and Europe; The moon I is excluded from the mission, as it is a Vulcan system and not an icy one). At the end of its life, the probe will begin a tilting manoeuvre to to study the magnetic poles of the giant gas planet. In fact, you can see the manoeuvre animated by click here.
The instruments on this exploration satellite are many and varied: JANUS, MAJIS, UVS, SWI, GALA, RIME, J-MAG, PEP, RPWI, 3GM and PRIDE. The first three are vision systems (cameras) at different wavelengths for studying the surfaces of each moon and the planet itself, while the others are specific instruments for particular measurements: Spectrometers, radars and laser altimeters to study the atmosphere, gravity, interaction with radio waves and ice depth, as well as various ultrasensitive magnetometers to create a precise map of Jupiter's magnetic field, and how it affects its moons.
Precisely, this latter instrument is the one that has caused the most problems during its design, development, and testing on Earth, as it is mounted on a 10.5-metre-long boom so that the interaction of the satellite's own electronics does not disturb the ultrasensitivity of the magnetometer at its tip.
For its testing and fine-tuning, which was carried out by SENER in Spain, helium balloons had to be used to “neutralise” the force of Earth's gravity that will not be present during deployment into Jupiter's orbit, as well as a clean room that could house the entire instrument body without compromising the experiment.
Once JUICE has completed the final phase of its qualification, it will board a ship bound for French Guiana. We wish him and all his siblings the best of luck, and we hope (we wish!) that he reaches his destination safely so that we can continue with the conquest of space and unveil the many secrets that still await us. And if, in addition, we can witness his launch as members of the public, then all the better.
