Dust environment predictions for the ESA L-class mission JUICE

We analyse the impacts of dust particles of radii 0.2 – 2 μ m along the JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer) trajectory within the Jovian system. We determine the impact rate per m2 of spacecraft cross-sectional area. We estimate an extrapolation of these impact rates to particle sizes 2 – 20 μ m and 20 – 200 μ m . We study in particular the impact hazard before and near Europa, due to the particular interest in the avoidance of a critical spacecraft failure in this region. We determine that impact-generated ejecta from the surface of Ganymede dominate the impacts on JUICE by nearly two orders of magnitude. However, these impacts are expected to have very low (2–3 km s−1) impact velocities on JUICE, whereas the Jovicentric dust cloud can produce impact velocities up to ∼ 8 km s − 1 , and potentially higher for the ∼ 5 % of impacts that we estimate are likely to have eccentricities in excess of 0.8.