ESA Announcement of Opportunity for the JUICE Payload
Through this Announcement of Opportunity the European Space Agency (ESA) solicits proposals for the provision of the scientific payload on board the JUICE spacecraft. The deadline for submission of proposals is 15 October 2012, 12:00 CEST (noon).
Direct link to this AO page: http://sci.esa.int/juice_ao
JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) was selected in May 2012, by the Science Programme Committee (SPC) as the L1 mission in the Cosmic Vision programme, with a foreseen launch date in 2022. The JUICE spacecraft will provide a thorough investigation of the Jupiter system in all its complexity with emphasis on the three ocean-bearing Galilean satellites, and their potential habitability. JUICE has been tailored to observe all the main components of the Jupiter system and untangle their complex interactions.
The JUICE spacecraft constitutes the European element of a coordinated program to Jupiter and its icy moons, which also foresees a Russian Ganymede lander, to be operated by Russia in coordination with JUICE. The joint program would allow a complete characterization of Ganymede, above and beyond what could be achieved with either element alone.
This Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for the provision of the scientific payload on board the JUICE spacecraft is open to scientists from the Member States of ESA and other communities with which reciprocity or specific agreements exist (such as USA, Russia, Japan). An agreement has already been established with NASA as a minor payload contributor. An agreement with Russia concerning payload provision for JUICE spacecraft and the Russian Ganymede lander is under discussion.
Furthermore, discussions with Russia on the possible evolution of the joint program profile are on-going. ESA reserves the right to amend or modify the present AO as needed, based on the outcome of such discussions, at any time.
With this AO it is intended to select the Instrument Consortia for the provision of the scientific payload on board the JUICE spacecraft. Instruments that address the JUICE science goals as described in the Assessment Study Report (Yellow Book) and in the Scientific Requirements Document will be given priority, although proposals addressing other science goals are not excluded a priori. The proposals shall include all Consortia elements necessary for the implementation phase, clearly defining tasks and level of commitment.
*NOTE*: Only Instrument Consortia that will submit a Letter of Intent by 6 July 2012, 12:00 CEST (noon), will be allowed to submit a Proposal.
