Europa Clipper Mission to Determine Whether Icy Moon Has
The discovery by Galileo of four brilliant moons circling Jupiter in 1610 shattered the long-standing belief that all celestial bodies revolved around.
Updated
On this page
Key takeaways
- The discovery by Galileo of four brilliant moons circling Jupiter in 1610 shattered the long-standing belief that all celestial bodies revolved around the Earth, which had been maintained for centuries prior.
- Interior Characterization of Europa Using Magnetometry (ICEMAG): As well as monitoring the magnetic field of Europa, this machine will work in tandem with the PIMS to work out the depth and salinity of the ocean.
- The backyard telescopes may one day be able to peer toward Jupiter, giving us a new perspective on where life may have originated in the cosmos.
“We believe the environment is just perfect for the potential development of life.” #
Introduction #
The discovery by Galileo of four brilliant moons circling Jupiter in 1610 shattered the long-standing belief that all celestial bodies revolved around the Earth, which had been maintained for centuries prior. The Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is scheduled for launch in 2024, is expected to discover data that will profoundly change our view of the solar system.
In terms of distance from Jupiter, Europa is Jupiter’s sixth closest moon and has a similar size to our own. Europa’s surface is salty, liquid ocean is nearly certain to exist according to data gathered by the Galileo space probe—launched in 1989 and named after Italian astronomer Galileo—and the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Dimensions of Europa #
Geologically, Europa’s surface is just 60 million years old, indicating that it has been constantly resurfaced, potentially via a mechanism similar to Earth’s changing plate tectonics. This heat is necessary to keep an ocean liquid on Europa because of its eccentric orbit and Jupiter’s strong gravitational pull. From the moon’s creation, hydrothermal energy may have been stored in the moon’s core, which may be used to heat the ocean below.
Scientists have prompted NASA to declare Europa “the most potential site in our solar system to locate present-day conditions that may support life.” But water and energy aren’t enough to sustain life. Hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen are also important compounds. Europa appears to meet the first two criteria, but its composition is still unknown. Europa’s habitability will be determined by confirming that all three of these life-sustaining elements are present.
Europa Clipper #
Have Worth, a space physicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab and deputy project scientist for the Europa Clipper mission, says, “Life on Europa is a $4 billion question.” He and his colleagues at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California are currently preparing to examine if Europa’s huge ocean has the elements essential for life.
The orbiter will be launched in late 2024 from Cape Canaveral, where it will begin its five-and-a-half-year trip to Europa. It will slingshot itself 484 million kilometers toward Jupiter as it passes Mars and Earth, where it will arrive in 2030. Dr. Kate Craft, a mission’s project crew member, says there are more obstacles ahead.
Observations by Hubble suggest that Europa’s ice geysers erupt periodically, creating plumes of water that extend into space. With the use of its thermal and ultraviolet cameras, the Clipper spacecraft will be able to locate places where ocean water may have landed after breaking through the ice, and examine the water’s chemistry to see if it contains any critical ingredients for life. While flying through a geyser plume in space, it may potentially pick up particles from the plume. To establish if the plumes are coming from subterranean pockets of water or an ocean below, the craft’s radar will be used.
Mission #
Europa Clipper is an ambitious project. It will be equipped with an amazing array of 9 instruments as large as a basketball court. One other challenge, adds Worth, will be getting all of those gadgets to operate concurrently in the cold conditions of deep space.
Maps of the moon’s surface will be created in color and from numerous angles using two cameras that are so strong they can detect objects as small as a few feet in length. They also want to use spectrometers to examine the chemical composition of Europa’s surface and the particles that float in front of it. It will be possible to measure the depth and salinity of Europa’s ocean using a magnetometer.
Using a thermal emission imaging equipment and an ultraviolet spectrograph, two additional sensors will search for regions where Europa’s ocean may have poured over onto the surface via eruptions. Without ever touching Europa’s surface, scientists would be able to examine the ocean’s composition.
The chosen Nine: #
Last year, NASA received the selected nine sensor proposals for the Europa Clipper. 33 of them were examined by the Europa panel, which ultimately narrowed the field down to nine. The following are some of them:
- Europa Imaging System (EIS): These wide and narrow-angled cameras will be capable of providing videos mapping the surface of the moon at 50m resolution and photographs up to 10 times that.
- Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS): By monitoring the magnetic inductions signals caused by the plasma currents around the moon, this instrument will identify the thickness of the icy shell and the depth and salinity of the ocean itself.
- Interior Characterization of Europa Using Magnetometry (ICEMAG): As well as monitoring the magnetic field of Europa, this machine will work in tandem with the PIMS to work out the depth and salinity of the ocean.
- Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE): This tool will identify the distribution of acid hydrates, salts, organic compounds, water ice phases and other substances to give a better idea of Europa’s constitution.
- Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding- Ocean to Near-Surface (REASON): This radar will detect undulations in the moon’s icy shell, thus shedding light on its hidden structure and the potential size of the water beneath.
- Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS): Using thermal imaging, this detector will attempt to pinpoint potential ventilation sites where plumes of water may be ejected into space for analysis.
- Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration/Europa (MASPEX): Mass spectrometry has long been a useful tool in NASA missions – in this particular one, it will analyze any material ejected into space and attempt to identify the compositional makeup of the ocean and surface core.
- Surface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA): By capturing any small, solid particles ejected from the vents of the icy crust, this tool will enable scientists to analyze the samples directly.
- Ultraviolet Spectrograph/Europa (UVS): The spectrograph will investigate Europa’s atmosphere and detect smaller plumes of water, if necessary.
A flyby of Europa every two to three weeks from as near as 16 miles away will be performed by Clipper every two to three years, transmitting back observations that will reach Earth in only one week. A plume, for example, or a need for additional research will prompt scientists to examine this data between flybys, and they will alter their observations if they find something that catches their attention. However, if money is available, the mission crew may extend the journey to include more flybys.
Europa Lander, the next logical step if Europa Clipper finds the moon habitable, will be launched in more than three years. Sky crane-delivered wanders like Mars Perseverance might be used to send cry-bots to Europa for drilling through the ice shell and into the water below.
APL is interested in exploring other seas in outer space, besides Europa’s subsurface waters. A spacecraft planned to circle and land on Saturn’s sixth-largest moon Enceladus to seek for indications of life hidden in its ocean will be presented to NASA in October 2020.
Possibility of Life #
If a world is to support life as we know it, liquid water, the appropriate chemical balance, and an energy source for life are all required. In terms of those elements, here’s how Europa does:
Water: Europa’s global ocean may contain twice as much liquid water as Earth’s ocean, according to recent estimates. We believe Europa’s salty ocean lies under its ice outer crust, which measures between 10 and 15 miles (15 and 25 kilometers) in thickness. In Europa’s icy shell, there is also a good chance that there is liquid water.
**Chemistry:**Many vital chemicals are required to produce life-giving molecules, including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen; phosphorus and Sulphur are also necessary. When comets and asteroids slammed onto Europa over its history, they may have taken some of these compounds with them. As the moon formed, it is possible that more substances were deposited or produced.
Energy: All life needs a source of energy to function. Europa’s exuberance for life may come from chemical processes on its surface and seafloor.
There are three primary aims or phases that scientists are pursuing as they try and figure out how the elements for life on Europa interact to create livable environments:
Scientists are trying to calculate Europa’s ice shell thickness, which covers the moon’s whole surface. Water content will be tested within and beneath the shell. Oceanographic measurements will be made to determine the size, salinity, and other sea characteristics. They will also determine how the ocean’s top interacts with the ocean’s bottom: The shell is filled with water.
Conclusion #
Scientists will examine Europa’s ocean’s composition and chemistry to see if it contains the components necessary for life to exist and flourish. Scientists want to find out how the characteristics on Europa’s surface came to be and any evidence of current activity, such as moving tectonic plates or plumes of water that are erupting into outer space. In addition, they will identify critical places on the surface that require more scientific investigation
Europa Clipper can explore landing locations for future missions as well as investigate Europa’s potential habitability. The backyard telescopes may one day be able to peer toward Jupiter, giving us a new perspective on where life may have originated in the cosmos.
Related reading