14 Apr 2023
On its way to Jupiter! The European Space Agency's (ESA) brand new probe called Juice - JUpiter ICy moons Explorer - successfully lifted off aboard the Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport on Friday 14 April 2023. On board are links manufactured by Axon' Cable. The purpose of this mission is to make detailed observations of the gas giant planet Jupiter and its moons. But before reaching its destination, the probe will have to travel for eight years.
Reliable connections for an eight-year journey
JUICE's mission is ambitious: to detect potential traces of life, especially on the moon called Europa, which seems to be the most likely to harbour life forms.
Axon's contributions to this mission are many. MIL Bus 1553 harnesses for signal integrity and data security, SpaceWire links for even faster data transfer (up to 400 Mb/s), microwave cables with very low losses and harnesses made of ESA wires terminated with miniature Micro-D connectors. In short, a lot of Axon' know-how is on board with Juice and accompanies it on its journey.
Weight savings, reliability and resistance to harsh environments are the constraints that Axon' cables must meet for this extraterrestrial mission.
A space legacy: to Mars and beyond
For Axon' Cable, the conquest of space began in the 1990s with the supply of data transmission links for all Ariane 5 launchers. Since then, the company's contribution to space missions has continued to grow. The group has provided interconnection links for NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, which have been operating on the Red Planet for over two years. The rover's mission is to collect and store Martian rock samples, but it is also to prepare for human exploration in the future.
Axon' Cable is also on board the International Space Station and many ESA missions.
Photo: Installing Juice at ESTEC / ESA-SJM Photography