Europe Clipper To Launch
Europa Clipper, artist concept (credit: JPL/NASA)
NASA will launch the Europa Clipper in early October.
Previous missions to Jupiter, and its four moons named by Galileo in 1610, have provided strong indications a gigantic ocean lies beneath Europa's icy crust. The Europa Clipper, not unlike sailing ships of discovery on the Earth's oceans in previous centuries, will orbit Jupiter making flybys of the frozen moon. The Clipper will gather data to determine if habitable locations exist under the thick ice that could support life. The spacecraft's primary objectives are to determine the thickness of the crust; its interactions with the ocean below; analyse its composition; and generally characterize Europa's geology using the largest science lab ever constructed for planetary exploration.
According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, 8 issues are key to understanding this complex mission, including a contemporary greeting similar to Carl Sagan's famous Golden Record carried by the Voyagers in the late 1970's:
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Europa is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth.
The moon may hold an internal ocean with twice the water of Earth’s oceans combined, and it may also host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface that could offer habitable conditions for life.
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The spacecraft will fly through one of the most punishing radiation environments in our solar system.
Jupiter is surrounded by a gigantic magnetic field 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s. As the field spins, it captures and accelerates charged particles, creating radiation that can damage spacecraft. Mission engineers designed a 'vault' to shield sensitive electronics from radiation.
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Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter, flying by Europa dozens of times.
The spacecraft will make looping orbits around Jupiter that bring it close to Europa for 49 science-dedicated flybys. On each orbit, the spacecraft will spend less than a day in Jupiter’s dangerous radiation zone near Europa before zipping back out.
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Europa Clipper has the most sophisticated science instruments ever launched.
To determine if Europa is habitable, Europa Clipper must assess the moon’s interior, composition, and geology. The spacecraft carries 9 separate science instruments to obtain the best science during each flyby to paint a full picture of the moon.
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When its antennas and solar arrays are deployed, Europa Clipper will be the largest spacecraft ever launched on a planetary mission.
The spacecraft extends 100 feet from one end to the other and about 58 feet across which is bigger than a basketball court. The solar arrays need to be huge to collect enough sunlight to power the instruments, electronics, and other subsystems at Jupiter.
Jupiter is 480 million miles from Earth, both planets are in motion, and a spacecraft can carry only limited fuel. JPL planners are sending Europa Clipper by Mars and Earth to use their gravity as a slingshot to speed the craft’s 1.8 billion mile trek to orbit Jupiter in 2030.
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Institutions in the U.S. and Europe contributed to Europa Clipper.
Approximately 1000 people currently work on the mission, including more than 220 scientists from the U.S. and Europe. Since the mission was approved in 2015, more than 4,000 people contributed to Europa Clipper.
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2.6 million names are riding on the spacecraft sending greetings from one water world to another.
As part of the mission, a public campaign called Message in a Bottle, the Europa Clipper will carry a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, cosigned by millions of people around the world saying "water" in over 100 languages.
JPL produced a video on this groundbreaking and monumental 'voyage of discovery' that will take 6 years to reach its destination. WHB