ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) was developed, constructed and tested at different sites across Europe. ‘The making of Juice’ series takes the viewer behind the scenes of the European space industry and planetary science community involved in the mission.

Juice carries a state-of-the-art science payload made up of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. This episode focuses on the in situ instruments J-MAG, PEP and RPWI, which will respectively study the magnetic, particle, and radio and plasma environment in the Jupiter system.

The magnetometer instrument (J-MAG) will measure the Jovian magnetic field and its interaction with that of Ganymede, and will study the subsurface oceans of the icy moon. The Particle Environment Package (PEP) comprises a suite of sensors to assess the plasma environment of the Jupiter system and the icy moons. The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) will measure the radio emission and plasma environment of Jupiter and its icy moons.

The documentary includes interviews with (in order of appearance): Norbert Krupp, Juice interdisciplinary scientist and co-investigator of the PEP instrument; Michele Dougherty, principal investigator of J-MAG; Jan-Erik Wahlund, principal investigator of RPWI; Patrícia Gonçalves, team leader for RADEM; and Stas Barabash, principal investigator of PEP.

November 2023 update: This episode is part of a film project that culminated in a two-hour documentary film released in November 2023.

Access the other episodes of ‘The making of Juice’

Credit: ESA/Lightcurve Films, original music by William Zeitler