ESA and GomSpace sign contract addendum for continued development on the Juventas CubeSat in support of the Hera mission

GomSpace A/S and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an addendum to continue development of the Juventas CubeSat in support of the Hera mission. The contract value is EUR 1,165,000 and the focus is on developing the nanosatellite payloads and maturing the mission and spacecraft designs. The amount will be divided between several partners, whereof GomSpace’s share is EUR 295,000.

The Hera mission is part of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) international collaboration together with the NASA DART mission and it will travel to the binary asteroid system, Didymos. Juventas is a 6U nanosatellite containing a low frequency radar as its primary payload (see Hera's CubeSat to perform first radar probe of an asteroid).

The nanosatellite will operate in close proximity to the Didymos asteroid system, it will perform radar and radio-science experiments targeting the moon of the binary asteroid, nicknamed Didymoon. Juventas will complete its mission by attempting to land on the surface of Didymoon, it will make measurements on the landing dynamics from likely bouncing events to capture details of the asteroids surface properties and it will end with measurements taken by a gravimeter payload to give insight into the dynamical properties of the asteroid.

GomSpace is the project lead with the science team, including collaborators from the Royal Observatory of Belgium and the University of Grenoble Alpes. The project continues its collaboration with:

• GMV Innovating Solutions from Romania leading the guidance, navigation and control subsystem
• Brno University of Technology from the Czech Republic contributing to the radar digital design
• Astronika from Poland delivering the radar antenna. 

This addendum adds new partners to the Juventas team, including EmTroniX from Luxembourg who will deliver the radar electronics and GomSpace Luxembourg who will contribute to the mission operations and AIV activities.

“We are happy to continue our collaboration with ESA and the Hera project on this exciting mission. Juventas will be the first GomSpace designed nanosatellite in deep space demonstrating its capabilities in the most harsh environment to date,” says Niels Buus, CEO of GomSpace.

The Hera project will be presented at ESA’s Space19+ meeting in November 2019 where Europe’s space ministers will make a final decision on the mission approval.

“Juventas is an important and pioneering part of the Hera mission and we are happy to see the support from the member states,” says Ian Carnelli of ESA, project manager of the Hera project.

For more information, please contact:
Niels Buus (CEO)
Tel: +45 40 31 55 57
E-mail: nbu @ gomspace.com

About GomSpace Group AB
The company’s business operations are mainly conducted through the wholly-owned Danish subsidiary, GomSpace A/S, with operational office in Aalborg, Denmark. GomSpace is a space company with a mission to be engaged in the global market for space systems and services by introducing new products, i.e. components, platforms and systems based on innovation within professional nanosatellites. The company is listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier exchange under the ticker GOMX. FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46-8-528 00 399 is the Company’s Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit our website on www.gomspace.com.

Miscellaneous
This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 03.45 p.m. CET on November 12, 2019.

Please note that the view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.