First dance step for CALIPSO!

IRAP is developing since 2012 a new way to test and calibrate the plasma instruments conceived within the PEPS group (Planets, Environments and Space Plasmas), CALIPSO (CALibration of Plasma Instruments and Observing System). This ultra-modern and fully automated test as well as the expertise of the team in charge of its development will be necessary to gain future instrumental contributions with strong accountability and visibility over the next exploration missions of the Solar System ionized environments.

Photography of the operating electron gun and its filament during the test

While its commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2016, a first successful step has been made in February with the test of the small beam electron gun (Figure 1a) and the automated characterization of its beam diameter (Figure 1b). This gun will be used for the characterization by IRAP of the detectors of Micro-Channel Galettes type of the Jupiter Energetic Neutrals and Ions (JENI)  instrument built by the Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University in the USA for the ICy Jupiter moon Explorer (JUICE) mission of the European Space Agency.

Congratulations to all the technical and scientific teams involved in this long-term project!

Characterization of the beam diameter (in mm) at 27 cm distance.

IRAP Contact

  • Nicolas André, nicolas.andre@irap.omp.eu

More news

News

The most powerful quasar of the last 9 billion years observed in X-rays

Research led by Elias Kammoun, a post-doctoral fellow at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (Université Paul Sabatier de Toulouse, CNRS and CNES), has revealed the existence of […]

26.05.2023

News

Jupiter: a gigantic natural particle booster

The launch of JUICE is scheduled for April 13, 2023, with the most massive planet in the solar system as its target: Jupiter, and its magnetosphere. With its rapid rotation […]

06.04.2023

News

Euclid Mission: Unlocking the mysteries of the Universe

The Euclid satellite, to be launched in July 2023, will attempt to unlock the secrets of the Universe by exploring the composition and evolution of the dark Universe. For 6 […]

13.03.2023

Search