The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A 1:18 scale model of Juice, ESA’s spacecraft to explore the Jupiter system, is being employed to test its radar antenna.
The working version of the RIME instrument (Radar for Icy Moons Exploration), incorporating a 16-m long version of the straight ‘dipole’ boom seen here under the model spacecraft, will probe up to 9 km deep under the surfaces of the gas giant’s main ‘Galilean’ moons.
The testing took place in ESA’s Hertz (Hybrid European RF and Antenna Test Zone) chamber based at ESA’s ESTEC technical heart in the Netherlands.
Metal walls screen outside radio signals, while spiky foam interior cladding absorbs radio signals internally to create conditions simulating the infinite void of space.
This chamber’s hybrid nature makes it unique: Hertz can assess radio signals from antennas either on a local ‘near-field’ basis or as if the signal has crossed thousands of kilometres of space, allowing it to serve all kinds of satellites and antenna systems.
Watch a video on the testing here.