Photo Credit: NASA JPL / European Space Agency / Paris Observatory / VR2Planets
Quantic Wenzel announced its selection to deliver space-qualified 10 MHz oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs) in support of NASA’s Venus Synthetic Aperture Radar (VenSAR), an instrument designed to fly on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Envision mission. Envision will study Venus’s atmosphere, surface and subsurface with unprecedented detail.
“Our selection as a supplier on this instrument reflects the expertise of the men and women at Quantic Wenzel who design and build RF solutions trusted for the most demanding space environments,” said Bruce Carlson, director of Engineering at Quantic Wenzel. “For more than 30 years, our RF technology has supported NASA programs including Mars Curiosity, Perseverance, Europa Clipper and recently the NISAR mission. VenSAR is another proud milestone in that heritage of providing robust, proven solutions for space with strong flight history and personnel expertise.”
The Envision mission will investigate Venus’s geological activity, atmosphere and interior structure. VenSAR, provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, will provide targeted high resolution imagery, topography, polarimetry and microwave emissivity measurements integral to deciphering the key science questions about the geological evolution and state of the surface of Venus. Quantic Wenzel’s ultra-stable OCXOs is designed to serve as the critical frequency reference for VenSAR’s next-generation synthetic aperture radar system, ensuring exceptional frequency stability, reliability and ultra-low phase noise in the harsh conditions of deep space.