All articles tagged with #materials testing
China has developed a new hypergravity centrifuge, CHIEF 1900, capable of generating accelerations of 1,900 g·tonne, to study materials and fundamental physics under extreme conditions, with applications in civil engineering and scientific research, though such forces are lethal to humans.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission, set to launch on 13 April, has undergone extensive materials testing to ensure it can withstand the harsh environment around Jupiter's moon Ganymede. The testing included exposing silver interconnects to atomic oxygen, which can erode susceptible materials, and low-temperature thermal cycling. The interconnects were found to be resistant to atomic oxygen erosion, allowing the spacecraft to maintain magnetic cleanliness, which is essential for optimal operation of the in-situ science instruments. Juice will spend three and a half years in the Jupiter system and will go into orbit around Ganymede in the final phase of its exploration.