« Go back Photovoltaic panels to reach the asteroid Didymos are Made in Italy
The photovoltaic panels to reach the binary asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorphos have been made in Italy.
The planetary defense mission that the European Space Agency will launch in October 2024 to reach the asteroid and its moon is called Hera. The probe will be powered by two wings, each with three solar panels, totaling about 14 square meters and over 1,600 cells. Leonardo Group manufactured the mission's panels in Nerviano, in the province of Milan.
For the Italian company, Hera is the third ESA mission that requires photovoltaic panels capable of operating in complex conditions: the first example was Rosetta heading towards the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, while the second is JUICE heading to Jupiter.
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