Credit: Silvio Zangarini
Dr Giuseppe Cimò of the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC has been awarded a grant from the Dutch Research Council and the Netherlands Space Office to support his role as Principal Investigator of the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment, which is part of JUICE, ESA’s flagship mission to explore Jupiter and its icy moons.
High-precision positional data for ESA’s JUICE mission
The Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) is one of 12 experiments within the European Space Agency’s JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission. The JUICE spacecraft will observe Jupiter and its moons, helping to deepen our understanding of their origin, evolution, and potential habitability.
Dr Cimò, Head of Space Science and Innovative Applications at JIVE and affiliated with Delft University of Technology, has been the Principal Investigator of PRIDE since November 2023. He has extensive experience coordinating ground-based spacecraft observations and leads a team exploring new applications of astronomical techniques for space research. He has collaborated with ESA for over a decade.
Commenting on the award, Dr Cimò said:
With this grant, we secure the operational sustainability of PRIDE as we shift from the mission’s cruise phase to science operations. The funding allows us to work on modernising our data processing pipeline. Our final goal is to provide high-precision lateral positions and radial velocities of the JUICE spacecraft, contributing directly to improving the ephemerides of the Jovian system."
The JUICE spacecraft, launched on 14 April 2023, is currently en route to Jupiter and is expected to enter orbit in 2031. Credit: ESA
PRIDE and JIVE’s expertise in VLBI
PRIDE uses Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to make high-precision measurements of the position and velocity of the JUICE spacecraft. VLBI is a radio astronomy technique that combines signals from multiple radio telescopes across the Earth, creating a giant observatory capable of studying the radio sky at the highest resolution.
PRIDE’s measurements will contribute to our knowledge of the ephemerides of Jupiter’s moons and support the mission’s scientific objectives.
For more than 30 years, JIVE has led the development and application of VLBI and other radio astronomy techniques, primarily through its role as the core organisation of the European VLBI Network (EVN). It is the first institute in the Netherlands to have researchers assume the role of Principal Investigator in a planetary science mission.
The PRIDE collaboration
PRIDE brings together research organisations from Australia, France, Germany, and Hungary, along with observatories of the EVN. JIVE works particularly closely with Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where a team led by Dr Dominic Dirkx, PRIDE co-PI, analyses PRIDE data to extract the spacecraft orbital parameters. The grant awarded to Dr Cimò will help strengthen the collaboration between PRIDE partners and make it more effective.
During JUICE’s recent Venus flyby, JIVE coordinated an EVN observation campaign using PRIDE to collect high-precision data, refining the spacecraft’s trajectory and planetary ephemerides. Credit: ESA
NWO and NSO strengthening Dutch PI roles in space
The Principal Investigator support programme enables researchers in the Netherlands carry out PI roles for space missions, experiments, and instruments more effectively, enhancing their scientific impact. It allows the wider scientific community to fully benefit from their knowledge while strengthening the Netherlands’ leadership in space missions.
Contact
Dr Giuseppe Cimò: cimo@jive.eu
Ioanna Kazakou, JIVE communications officer: communications@jive.eu