MICE entered the clean room

 Don't panic, we are not facing a mice (Mus Musculus, Murinae) invasion!

While payload and system tests have continued successfully this week. Another activity is in preparation for next week: flight battery de-storage and reconditioning. At the moment flight batteries are stored in a cold chamber (+2C). Batteries will be progressively brought to room temperature, unpacked in the clean room and tested. During this reconditioning phase, batteries will be charged and discharged several time. In order to maintain temperature requirements, it is necessary to cool down batteries particularly during the charging phase. The MICE (Mobile Indoor Cooling Equipment) will be used in the clean room for that purpose. The two long hoses (called Boa) which are mounted on the cooling devices will blow a permanent flow of controlled air on the batteries. (With its long antennas, MICE looks closer to cockroach than to a mouse :-)

Few CSG and Thales  technicians pulled this heavy equipment in the clean room, near to the location batteries will be tested. Note that the large door separating the transfer hall from the clean room was open for this transfer.

The purpose in the coming days will be to validated the use of this dedicated support equipment (air flow, temperature, humidity and cleanliness parameters...) in order to be sure this will work next week when the batteries will be transferred from the cold chamber to the clean room. The set up for this activity has also been arranged as it showed below: batteries will be laid on the table and cooled by air blown by the two boas...

Up to now, MICE is at work on its own. We hope anyway to enjoy the week end without being disturbed by alarms which have been set up in case monitored parameters get out of specification (oos).
...Hope you know all about MICE now and you are no longer scared by them :-)