Europa Clipper launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 14, 2024 at 12:06 pm EDT, beginning a six-year journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. The spacecraft will fly 49 times, approaching as close as 25 kilometers. Searching for the ingredients of life below the surface (16 miles).
Europa Clipper will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 14, 2024 at 12:06 pm EDT. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
european clipper This is the largest spacecraft ever built by NASA for a planetary mission.
Expanding the giant solar array, the spacecraft could span the length of a basketball court (30.5 meters, or 100 feet, end to end).
“We congratulate the European Clipper team as it begins its first journey to the ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“NASA is a world leader in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no exception.”
“By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is potential for life not only within our solar system, but also on the billions of moons and planets outside the sun. .”
“We couldn't be more excited about the incredible and unprecedented science that NASA's European Clipper mission will bring for generations to come,” said Nikki Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. states.
“All of NASA's science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper's scientific discoveries will help other missions in Jupiter exploration, including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager, explore the possibility of inhabited planets beyond our home planet. We will build on the legacy we have created as we explore possible worlds.”
“We are very happy to be able to send Europa Clipper to explore a potentially habitable ocean world, thanks to all of our colleagues and partners who have worked so hard to date.” said Dr. Laurie Leshin, Director of NASA's Jet Division. Promotion Institute.
“The Europa Clipper will undoubtedly deliver amazing science. It is always bittersweet to send something we have worked so hard on for so many years on its long journey, but this amazing team We know that spacecraft will expand our knowledge of our solar system and provide inspiration for future exploration.”
“As Europa Clipper embarks on its journey, I will reflect on the countless dedications, innovations, and teamwork that made this moment possible,” said Europa Clipper project manager, also at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jordan Evans said.
“This launch is more than just the next chapter in solar system exploration. It is a journey into another ocean, driven by our common curiosity and the quest to answer the question 'Are we alone?' A leap forward to uncover the mysteries of the world. ”
The journey to Jupiter will be a long 2.9 billion kilometers (1.8 billion miles), and instead of heading straight there, Europa Clipper will orbit Mars and then Earth, speeding past it.
The spacecraft is scheduled to begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030 and begin its 49 science-focused flybys of Europa in 2031 while orbiting the gas giant.
This orbit is designed to take full advantage of the science Europa Clipper can perform and minimize exposure to Jupiter's notoriously intense radiation.
Scientists on the mission will be able to “see” how thick Europa's ice shell is and gain a deeper understanding of the vast ocean beneath.
They will examine surface material that may have come up from below, look for fingerprints of organic compounds that form the building blocks of life, and sample gases emitted by the moon for evidence of habitability. I will.
They will analyze the results and look for signs of a water world that could support life beneath the moon's frozen shell.
“It's important for us to picture what that alien ocean is like, the chemistry and biochemistry that might be going on there,” said Europa Clipper team member said Dr. Morgan Cable, an astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Its research centers on searching for the types of salts, ices, and organic materials that make up the main ingredients of a habitable world.
This is where an imager called MISE (Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa) comes into play.
Operating in the infrared, the spacecraft's MISE splits the reflected light into different wavelengths to identify the corresponding atoms and molecules.
The mission will also use an instrument called E-THEMIS (European Thermal Emission Imaging System), which also operates in infrared, to explore potential sites near Europa's surface where plumes could bring deep-sea material closer to the surface. Attempt to identify hotspots.
The task of the EIS (Europa Imaging System) is to take clear, detailed pictures of Europa's surface using both narrow-image and wide-image cameras.
“EIS imagers will provide incredibly high-resolution images to understand how Europa's surface continues to evolve and change,” said Dr. Cable.
NASA's Cassini mission has discovered giant plumes of water vapor spewing from jets near the south pole of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus.
Europa may also emit a misty column of water drawn from the ocean or from reservoirs within its shell.
The Europa Clipper's instrument, called Europa-UVS (Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph), can explore the plume and study any material that could be ejected into space.
Regardless of whether Europa has a plume or not, the spacecraft will carry two instruments to analyze small amounts of gas and dust particles ejected from the moon's surface by collisions with micrometeorites and high-energy particles. It has been. MASPEX (MAss SPECtrometer for Planetary Exploration/Europa) and SUDA (Surface Dust Analyzer).
These instruments capture small pieces of material emitted from surfaces and turn them into charged particles that reveal their composition.
“The spacecraft will study the gases and grains emitted by Europa by sticking out its tongue, tasting the grains, and inhaling those gases,” Dr. Cable said.
The mission will also explore Europa's external and internal structures in a variety of ways. That's because both structures have far-reaching implications for the moon's habitability.
To gain insight into the thickness of ice shells and the presence of oceans, as well as their depth and salinity, the mission will measure the moon's induced magnetic field with the ECM (European Clipper Magnetometer) and use that data to analyze currents from flowing charged particles. We plan to combine it with the measured values of . Around Europa — Data provided by PIMS (Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding).
In addition, mission scientists will use REASON (European Assessment and Near-Surface Sounding Radar), which monitors up to 18 miles (29 km) away, to detect every detail from the presence of ocean to ice structure and topography. I plan to investigate. several miles) into the shell. itself a potentially habitable environment.
Measuring the changes that Europa's gravity causes in radio signals should help determine the thickness of the ice and the depth of the ocean.
“Non-ice material on the surface can migrate into deep internal pockets of brine within the ice shell,” said Dr. Steve Vance, a member of the European Clipper team and an astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Some may be large enough to be considered lakes, or at least ponds.”
“Using the collected data to perform large-scale computer modeling of Europa's internal structure, we may be able to uncover the ocean's composition and estimate its temperature profile.”
“Whatever the situation, the discovery will open a new chapter in the search for extraterrestrial life.”
“The European Clipper is almost certain to raise as many questions as it answers, if not more, in a completely different class than we have been thinking about for the past 25 years.”
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This article is based on a press release provided by NASA.
Source: www.sci.news
