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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2032
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2032
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
14 Apr 2026
| 14 Apr 2026
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Annales Geophysicae (ANGEO).
Calibrating JANUS: an overview of the calibration pipeline and what we learned from the Moon-Earth flyby data
Abstract. JANUS (Jovis Amorum Ac Natorum Undique Scrutator) is the high-resolution multispectral camera on board of the ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE). The mission, launched in April 2023, is currently traveling towards the Jovian system where it will characterize Jupiter, its environment and its icy moons, primarily Ganymede. During 19–20 August 2024 JUICE flew by the Moon and the Earth performing a Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist maneuver (LEGA) that provided a unique opportunity to test the instruments in mission-like conditions. In this paper we describe the status of the calibration pipeline applied to JANUS data acquired during LEGA, the lessons learned by the analysis of the calibrated data and the open points.
How to cite. Agostini, L., Matz, K.-D., Tubiana, C., Della Corte, V., Penasa, L., Bilotta, T., Sarti, F., Read, M., Hviid, S., Mottola, S., Aboudan, A., Trauthan, F., Politi, R., Aye, M., Hueso, R., Lucchetti, A., Kersten, E., Belgacem, I., Dietz, A., Evill, R., Bell III, J. F., Zinzi, A., Castro-Marin, J. M., Roatsch, T., Schmitz, N., Patel, M. R., Lara, L. M., Portyankina, G., and Palumbo, P.: Calibrating JANUS: an overview of the calibration pipeline and what we learned from the Moon-Earth flyby data, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2032, 2026.
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INAF - IAPS (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali), Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
Klaus-Dieter Matz
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Cecilia Tubiana
INAF - IAPS (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali), Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Della Corte
INAF - OACN (Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte), Salita Moiariello 16, 80131, Napoli, Italy
Luca Penasa
INAF - OAPd (Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova), Vicolo Osservatorio 5, 35122, Padova, Italy
Thomas Bilotta
Leonardo SpA, Via delle Officine Galileo 1, 50013, Campi Bisenzio (FI), Italy
Francesco Sarti
Leonardo SpA, Via delle Officine Galileo 1, 50013, Campi Bisenzio (FI), Italy
Matthew Read
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
Stubbe Hviid
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Stefano Mottola
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Alessio Aboudan
Università di Padova - CISAS Giuseppe Colombo, via Venezia 15, 35131 Padova, Italy
Frank Trauthan
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Romolo Politi
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
Michael Aye
Freie Universität Berlin, Inst.for Geosciences, Malteserstr. 74-100, 12249 Berlin, Germany
Ricardo Hueso
Escuela de Ingeniería de Bilbao, Universidad del País Vasco, UPV/EHU, Plaza Ingeniero Torres Quevedo 1, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
Alice Lucchetti
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
Elke Kersten
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Ines Belgacem
European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Angela Dietz
European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Operation Center, Darmstadt, Germany
Ry Evill
European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Operation Center, Darmstadt, Germany
Jim F. Bell III
Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Box 876004, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
Angelo Zinzi
ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) - Centro Spaziale di Matera, C.da Terlecchia, 75100, Matera, Italy
Jose María Castro-Marin
IAA-CSIC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía - CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía 3, 18008 Granada, Spain
Thomas Roatsch
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Nicole Schmitz
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Manish R. Patel
School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
Luisa M. Lara
IAA-CSIC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía - CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomía 3, 18008 Granada, Spain
Ganna Portyankina
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Space Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Pasquale Palumbo
INAF - IAPS (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali), Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
Short summary
JANUS is the high-resolution multispectral camera on board of the ESA JUICE mission. During 19-20 August 2024 JUICE flew by the Moon and the Earth performing a Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist maneuver that provided a unique opportunity to test the instruments in mission-like conditions. In this paper we describe the status of the calibration pipeline applied to JANUS data acquired, the lessons learned by the analysis of the calibrated data and the open points.
JANUS is the high-resolution multispectral camera on board of the ESA JUICE mission. During...