Status of Solar Generator Related Technology Development Activities Supporting the Juice Mission

Abstract

The paper provides an overview of the current status of several technical development activities initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) to support the JUICE mission to the Jovian system. First of all, the qualification status of the solar cells to be used in the JUICE mission will be reported. Then, the conclusions from a dedicated activity aiming at assessing the potential degradation of triple-junction solar cells upon primary discharges will be discussed. Finally, the results on the coupon tests currently running at ESA will be presented. The coupons consist of representative solar cell assemblies including coverglasses with a conductive Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) layer. Dedicated coverglass grounding technologies are tested on the coupons which connect the conductive coverglass surfaces to the panel ground. It will be shown how the resistivity of the materials used in the coupons evolves upon submission to extreme thermal cycles.