[P-PS01] Outer Solar System Exploration Today, and Tomorrow

[PPS01-02] The Ganymede Laser Altimeter (GALA) for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE): Overview and Japanese contribution

*Keigo Enya¹, Masanori Kobayashi², Jun Kimura³, Hiroshi Araki⁴, Hirotomo Noda⁴, Noriyuki Namiki⁴, Shoko Oshigami¹, Ko Ishibashi², Kazuyuki Touhara¹, Yoshifumi Saito¹, Kay Lingenauber⁵, Reinald Kallenbach⁵, Hauke Hussmann⁵ (1.JAXA/ISAS, 2.CIT, 3.Osaka University, 4.NAOJ, 5.DLR)

Keywords:JUICE, GALA, Jupiter, Ganymede

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is a science mission led by the European Space Agency, being developed for launch in April 2023. The Ganymede Laser Altimeter (GALA) is an instrument onboard JUICE, whose main scientific goals are to understand ice tectonics based on topographic data, the subsurface structure by measuring tidal response, and small-scale roughness and albedo of the surface. In addition, from the perspective of astrobiology, it is imperative to study the subsurface ocean scientifically. The development of GALA has proceeded through an international collaboration between Germany (the lead), Japan, Switzerland, and Spain. Within this framework, the Japanese team (GALA-J) is responsible for developing three receiver modules: the Backend Optics (BEO), the Focal Plane Assembly (FPA), and the Analog Electronics Module (AEM). Like the German team, GALA-J also developed software to simulate the performance of the entire GALA system (performance model). In this presentation, we show an overview of GALA and Japanese contribution to it.