Industry Related News: United States – July, 2021:
With it being one of the most promising locations to learn more about life outside of Earth, Europa (one of Jupiter’s roughly 79 moons) has become the center of attention for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). When prepping for a potential mission to reach this moon, many issues and problems arose: the first and foremost being the antenna, which would need to maintain a link with Earth despite a distance of over 550 million miles. Not only this, but the antenna needs to be lightweight, durable, and able to survive in the harshest conditions.
This step is where NASA’s thermal vacuum chamber and thermal testing process came into play, as it allows scientists to verify a spacecraft’s ability to survive in temperatures of extreme highs and lows. The thermal vacuum chamber used in this situation reaches lows around -170°C (-274°F) and highs of about 150°C (302°F). It is important to note that the project would have been severely set back if the antenna failed this test, as failure in thermal testing indicates that the antenna would never endure in the harsh conditions of space. However, it is better to test beforehand than to launch a multimillion-dollar craft into orbit and have it be unable to communicate with NASA back on Earth. This is why thermal vacuum chamber testing is extremely important for organizations like NASA, as they reduce the potential for costly mistakes. Luckily, the antenna successfully passed the thermal vacuum chamber test with ease. There were zero issues structurally, and its transmitting abilities were measured before and after to ensure no internal issues occurred. Thermal vacuum chamber tests are commonplace for any spacecraft, but this situation was more critical than usual. The antenna was the last major roadblock for confirming the practicality of this project and its future. Other tests performed measured the antenna’s ability to endure intense conditions, its performance over long distances, and much more.
While a mission has not been scheduled for Europa yet, the antenna passing its thermal vacuum chamber test has proved that a potential mission is feasible. Thanks to this testing, we could be one step closer to having a better understanding of our universe and the life that inhabits it. With the antenna passing thermal vacuum chamber testing, perhaps a Europa mission is in the foreseeable future.
IEEE.Org, “No Antenna Could Survive Europa’s Brutal Radioactive Environment – Until Now“ IEEE.org, 21 July 2021, Accessed 29 July 2021.
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Khoury Industries is a worldwide leader in temperature testing equipment for device characterization, thermal cycling equipment, and failure analysis. Khoury Industries designs and manufactures custom thermal testing chambers and microwave thermal testing fixtures used in a variety of industries including: military, space, automotive, medical, research, and communication fields. The Khoury Box and the patented ELI-1000 have quickly become industry favorites as thermal testing devices used to ensure the reliability of industrial and electronic products through prolonged exposure to extreme conditions.
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