Juice: From CERN to Jupiter

In April, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) space mission was launched towards Jupiter. However, this historic, eight-year-long trip ends with a technical challenge as the exceptionally strong magnetic field of the gas giant planet, that traps electrons of very-high energy, can cause immense damage to modern electronic devices. Before embarking on its journey, Juice’s critical components were tested at CERN, in the only facility on Earth capable of replicating Jupiter’s harsh radiative environment, to be sure they could withstand such conditions.

The tests performed at CERN reinforce ESA’s planetary exploration ambitions and helped optimise the Juice spacecraft design

– Giuseppe Sarri, ESA Juice project manager