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TRAD entreprise is an important actor to realize the JUICE mission. 15 years of preparation and 12 years of mission (better to have a good health !).

Created in 1994 in Labège (France), TRAD Tests & Radiations is an independent company providing a high level of expertise and services for testing, calculation and analysis. Its core business is the testing and analysis of radiation effects on materials, components and electronic systems.

The FASTRAD software, developed and marketed by TRAD for almost 20 years, has been chosen as the official tool dedicated to the evaluation of constraints related to space radiation for scientific instruments on board the JUICE mission. Being able to accurately calculate the cumulative radiation stress of the onboard instruments, called dose, is a key aspect of the mission. This dose, induced by the highly energetic electrons and protons coming from Jupiter's radiative environment, can lead to a drift of the electrical parameters or even to a partial or complete loss of the instrument's operation if it is not properly protected. The level of dose received thus determines the life span of the onboard electronic components during the 8 years of travel to the Jovian moons and the 4 years of mission around them.

The teams in charge of the FASTRAD software had to meet many challenges to meet the requirements of an exploration mission around the largest planet in our solar system. Indeed, it was necessary to adapt the analysis tools by introducing new developments in the software, all this in direct collaboration with the experts in charge of the scientific equipment. The improvement of the functionalities of the Monte Carlo module of the software has allowed the instrumentalists to analyze with precision the dose levels received within their equipment by means of maps. Thanks to this work initiated several years ago, the engineers were able to optimize the shielding and configuration of their instruments to withstand one of the most extreme radiative environments in our solar system.