Recently, the European Space Agency (ESA) has made a major breakthrough in understanding the mystery of why the RIME (Radar for Icy Moon Exploration) deployment mechanism failed on the mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. ESA’s JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission was launched in 2023, with the goal of studying the icy moons of Jupiter’s atmosphere in an effort to gain insight into the potential for life on other planets. On the mission, the RIME instrument was designed to penetrate the icy surface of Europa and measure its interior structure. However, the deployment mechanism failed, preventing the instrument from being released.

After months of investigation, ESA has finally determined the cause of the failure: a malfunction within the deployment mechanism itself. They have now developed a new mechanism that will ensure successful deployment of the instrument on future missions. This is a key development for the JUICE mission, as the RIME instrument is integral to the exploration of Europa’s environment. With the successful deployment of the instrument, ESA will be able to gain invaluable insight into the potential for life on other planets.

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source: Phys.org