ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - SolAero Technologies Corp. has been awarded a contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL) for the design, manufacture and testing of solar array panels for the proposed Europa Clipper Mission.

The solar panels for the proposed Europa Clipper will be populated with SolAero’s high-efficiency ZTJ triple-junction solar cells that have been demonstrated to exhibit strong performance under Low Intensity sunlight and Low Temperature (LILT) conditions of interplanetary missions like this one.

SolAero has a history powering satellites and spacecraft for NASA and JPL, including the MAVEN mission to Mars, the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission and the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission, among others. The ZTJ solar cell is currently powering over 185 Earth orbiting satellites and interplanetary spacecraft and possesses the industry’s most extensive qualification and flight heritage in applications beyond Earth orbit.

Finding signs of life off of the Earth is one of the most exciting aspects of space exploration, motivating scientists and engineers around the world. Europa represents one of the best chances of finding life in the Solar System. As such, NASA is planning a series of missions to explore Jupiter's moon. The first will be the flyby mission, while a second will deploy a lander onto the surface of the moon.

Source: SolAero
Associated URL: https://solaerotech.com/solaero-technologies-awarded-contract-to-power-the-europa-clipper-mission-for-nasajpl/
Author: B. Ostrove, Analyst