Australian Space Agency

• FREMONT, Calif., April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BIS Research, the global leader in providing market intelligence on deep technologies, has released its latest study titled UAV Satellite Communication (SATCOM) Market - A Global and Regional Analysis.
• According to this study, the global UAV SATCOM market was valued at $9.36 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $10.72 billion by 2033.
• Therefore, one of the key findings from this study by BIS Research was the leading application segment for the global UAV SATCOM market.
• The global UAV satellite communication (SATCOM) market for the agriculture and forestry segment reported revenue generation of $2.45 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.01% during the forecast period 2023-2033 to reach approximately $3 billion by 2033.

• This is one of the mysteries that the space mission JUICE (for JUpiter ICy moons Explorer), set to be launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on Thursday 13 April 2023 at 12.14 p.m. UT, will look to elucidate.
• Through this mission, the agency has also managed the feat of placing JUICE on the launch pad only 11 years after the project was greenlit.
• France’s team, of which I am a part, also helped develop six of JUICE’s ten state-of-the-art scientific instruments.

Stretching science’s boundaries

Jupiter is both the largest planet in our solar system and the one with the most moons. To date, estimates of their number hover between 82 and 95, most of which have been discovered in the last two decades. JUICE is the first mission to receive more than 1 billion euros of funding as part of the ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme. It seeks to address four main questions:
JUICE was chosen ahead of other proposed missions because it was designed to address the first and last of these questions. The Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s space probes Voyager, Galileo, Juno have already picked up some clues either by direct observation or deduction.

“Ocean moons” containing more water than the Earth

• NASA’s Galileo was the first to discover water on the moons in 1995.
• Data captured by the space probe revealed gigantic liquid oceans not only under the crusts of its three icy moons, Callisto, Europa and Ganymed, but also on its volcanic moon, Io.


The Galilean moons further enjoy the gravitational energy of Jupiter, creating significant tidal effects and allowing the last two conditions above to be met.

Why Ganymed is the main objective

Ganymed is set to studied in much more depth by JUICE than Callisto and Europa. This is not only because it is the largest moon in the Solar System, but also an ocean moon with its own magnetic field. Similarly to the Earth’s magnetosphere, Ganymede’s has the potential to protect life by diverting the flow of cosmic rays and radiative particles from Jupiter’s radiation belts.

JUICE, a probe of the extreme

• JUICE will also have to cope with extreme temperatures, ranging from +250°C as it flies by Venus to -230°C in the Jovian system.
• To maintain a stable internal temperature, the spacecraft has been coated with a multilayer thermal insulation made out of grey silicon aluminium alloy, earning the probe the nickname “silver beauty”.

An energy problem

• Around Jupiter, which is five times further from the Sun than Earth, the satellite will receive 25 times less solar energy than it would around Earth.
• The spacecraft does not carry a radioactive battery because Europe is not yet able to produce them industrially, unlike the United States, Russia and China.

Ten scientific instruments on board

• Of these instruments, France – with assistance from Italy – chiefly engineered the Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS).
• This will enable us to identify landing sites for future in situ exploration, and evaluate the structure and dynamics of Jupiter’s atmosphere.
• Finally, it should be noted that JUICE’s plans may be revised based on the latest results from NASA’s Juno mission.

• The Moon to Mars Trailblazer Initiative seeks to progress Australian space exploration with remotely operated and autonomous Australian robotic lunar assets.
• The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium aim to be selected for Stage 2 of the Initiative and delivery by NASA of an Australian lunar rover to the Moon.
• The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium, together with the Australian Space Agency, will connect highly capable and motivated space professionals in Australia with opportunities to leverage leading mining and mineral extraction capabilities.
• The EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium is fortified with depth and expertise from Consortium Partners.