A team of three researchers from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) will play a key role in the first ever spacecraft attempt to fly past the Moon, and then past Earth. The flyby is set to take place over today and tomorrow (19-20 August).
The manoeuvre is part of the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. As well as conducting detailed observations of Jupiter and its moons, the mission will be investigating Jupiter's moons as possible habitats for life.
The lunar-Earth flyby will be an opportunity for the DIAS team to test their ideas about the spacecraft's behaviour in the environment of a moon, in preparation for the actual flybys of Jupiter's moons.
Senior Professor Caitriona Jackman, Dr. Mika Holmberg and Dr. Hans Huybrighs are all members of the DIAS Planetary Magnetospheres Group, which is the only Irish research group involved in the mission.
Commenting on DIAS's role in the flyby, Prof. Caitriona Jackman, Associated Scientist and Head of the Planetary Magnetospheres Research Group at DIAS, said "We will be monitoring the flyby with trepidation as it's an extremely challenging undertaking - the slightest mistake could take Juice off course and spell the end of the mission.
"This is the first step in Juice's journey through the solar system on its way to Jupiter. The spacecraft will use the gravity of the Moon and then Earth to bend its path through space and redirect it on course for a flyby of Venus in August 2025. This will help to ensure it arrives at Jupiter with the right speed and direction. It's a journey that requires perfect accuracy and in-depth planning."
"Having this opportunity to test our ideas about the spacecraft's behaviour in the environment of a moon is truly exciting and will be a huge boost in confidence for our research once Juice arrives at Jupiter. The encounter of Earth's moon is a practice-run for when we get to Jupiter, where we will study moons with underground oceans that might support life. I'm extremely proud of the work carried out by our research group so far, and that we can be part of such an important mission."
DIAS expertise
DIAS's work on this mission will explore how the spacecraft itself affects the measurement of particles, and will use an advanced computer model to investigate this. Commenting on her involvement in this mission, Dr. Mika Holmberg, Research Fellow at DIAS and Co-Investigator on the Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation Instrument, said,
"The measurements from the lunar-Earth flyby could have a significant impact on our research going forward. The effects of the interaction between the spacecraft and its environment influences our interpretation of the measurements. For example, it might change our understanding of where the moon particles that we are trying to detect come from, or how many there are.
"The computer simulations account for the environment of the spacecraft and models how the moon particles will be affected, so that we can correct potential misleading effects for later in the mission. When Juice flies by the Moon we have the first opportunity to test our correction techniques during an actual moon encounter, which is exciting. It's the perfect opportunity for us to calibrate our instruments and smooth out any remaining issues, and who knows what it could lead to!"
Dr Hans Huybrighs, Research Fellow at DIAS and Associated Scientist of the Particle Environment Package instrument explains that the main objectives of the mission are to study the abilities of Jupiter's moons to host life, which requires accurate and detailed measurements.
"Jupiter's moons slowly release particles from their surface. In some cases, this release could happen through water eruptions that produce 100-kilometre-tall plumes. By detecting these particles, we can learn more about the moons' potential to support life. Investigating how Juice can best detect these plumes is one of the topics we are working on at DIAS."
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