These are the Montreal-developed 5N Plus solar cells installed on the Juice probe, a probe launched by the European Space Agency on April 14 with a mission to explore the icy moons of Jupiter.
To be precise, a subsidiary of 5N Plus, located in Germany, manufactured the solar cells. The company is called Azure Space Solar. The rover’s solar panel components produced a total area of 85 square meters, or 910 square feet for those who prefer imperial units, which is still quite large. These are, according to the European Space Agency, the largest solar panels ever produced for an interplanetary spacecraft.
The challenge for 5N Plus was to manufacture sensors capable of generating electricity from an environment where sunlight is very weak. It also suggests that Jupiter’s “dark and hostile” atmosphere should make its mission more complicated once it reaches its destination. But it claims to have produced technology that should work even 600 million kilometers from Earth.
5N Plus’ technology has also convinced NASA to engage with it on future missions. It looks like the solar collectors will be installed on the Europa Clipper probe, which NASA also hopes to send to Jupiter in the fall of 2024.
We’ll have time to talk about it again, Juice’s probe should reach its destination in 2031. We can’t wait to see the photos he’ll bring back from this expedition.
