School Blog - Space Summer School

01 Sep

Studying the morphology of Jupiter’s icy moons and monitoring the planet’s atmosphere with JANUS

by Laetitia Le Deit, Gabriel Tobie, Benoît Seignovert 30/08/2023 JANUS is the visible camera onboard the JUICE spacecraft. It will be used to study the morphology and surface processes of icy moons and perform mapping of the clouds of Jupiter. It will substantially enhance our existing image database of the Jupiter system, through its expanded [...]

29 Aug

Live like an Astronaut

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

According to the dictionary, an astronaut is a person who is professionally trained to travel in a spacecraft. "Astronaut" is the term used by NASA since the start of their space programme. The Russian Federal Space Agency (or its Soviet predecessor) uses the term "cosmonaut". These two became popularised during the 1960's space race between [...]

23 Aug

Chandrayaan-3 to land near Lunar south pole

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission Chandrayaan-3 is due to land near the lunar south pole today. This will be the first Moon landing so close to the south pole. The landing will be soft, meaning the lander will survive on the surface. A rover, stored inside the lander, will roll out and explore [...]

22 Aug

Mapping the chemical diversity of the Galilean moons with MAJIS

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

Gabriel Tobie, 18/08/2023 The Galileo mission (1996-2003) provided clear evidence that the Galilean moons, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, harbour a salted water ocean underneath their cold icy shells. Various salt and simple organic compounds have been identified at their surface by infrared spectroscopy. But it is still unclear how the surface composition is linked to [...]

22 Aug

Probing the interior of Ganymede and Callisto with 3GM

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

by Gabriel Tobie, 18/08/2023 Ganymede and Callisto have similar sizes and masses, and both possess an internal ocean underneath their cold icy surface. However, the lack of surface activity on Callisto indicates a geological history very different form that of Ganymede. What are the processes in their interior at the origin of this dichotomy still [...]

16 Aug

Jupiter Great Red Spot

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by Alexandra Pais Jupiter hosts the most wide and strong windstorm known in the solar system. The Great Red Spot is a huge anticyclone of hydrogen and helium winds, powered from inside the planet. It is probably the same storm that has been seen since the first telescopes were targeted to Jupiter’s surface, more than [...]

09 Aug

Downstream Applications – what, how, who?

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

Most startups create so-called downstream applications that make use of satellite data from the Copernicus or the Galileo programmes. Copernicus is the European Union programme of Earth Observation, which monitors our planet and environment. Galileo is Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), providing improved positioning and timing information for European services and users. Copernicus, named [...]

09 Aug

On the Shoulders of Giants

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

The phrase "on the shoulders of giants" is often attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, although its origins can be traced back to earlier sources. The phrase captures the idea that knowledge and progress build upon the work and insights of those who came before us. It signifies the acknowledgment of the contributions of predecessors and [...]

08 Aug

Spectrometers and Spectrographs in Space and on Earth

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

Spectroscopy is the study of spectra, spectrography is the recording of the spectra, and spectrometry is the measure of spectra. The three terms are used almost interchangeably in astronomy, astrophysics and other disciplines. Spectra (plural of spectrum) are ways to look at light (or electromagnetic waves) where different wavelengths are represented separately. An example we [...]

07 Aug

Solar power and JUICE’s massive panels

Pedro LacerdaNo Opinions

On its way to Jupiter, JUICE is moving away from the Sun. Sunlight is getting fainter and fainter, which becomes a problem if your spacecraft's electronics is designed to be powered by solar energy. Solution: massive solar panels. Juno, a NASA mission, had the previous record of solar panel area. JUICE now holds the record. [...]

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