Europa Clipper: What Lies Beneath its Frozen Surface?

All that you need to know about Europa Clipper:

• Europa Clipper is a NASA space probe to be launched on October 14, 2024, designed to study Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, through a series of 44 flybys.
• It is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, developed to study Europa's potential habitability, focusing on the possibility of a subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust.
• The mission is part of NASA's Planetary Science Division's Large Strategic Science Missions and is supported by the Ocean Worlds Exploration Program.
• Europa Clipper aims to follow up on discoveries from the Galileo spacecraft (1995-2003) that indicated Europa may have a liquid water ocean beneath its surface.
• The probe was launched aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket and will use gravity assists from Mars (2025) and Earth (2026) to arrive at Europa in 2030.
• Initially, NASA considered a Europa orbiter, but due to intense radiation around Europa, the Clipper will orbit Jupiter instead, making flybys of Europa to gather data.
• The spacecraft will use gravity assists from Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto to adjust its trajectory, allowing different regions of Europa to be studied over 3.5 years.
• Its main goals are to explore Europa’s ice shell and subsurface ocean, analyze its surface composition, and investigate geological features.
• The spacecraft will carry nine scientific instruments to study Europa’s surface, interior, and atmosphere, including cameras, spectrometers, and radar to map ice thickness and sample potential water plumes.

1. Europa Imaging System (EIS): A high-resolution camera suite designed to capture detailed images of Europa's surface, focusing on its geological features, such as ridges, fractures, and potential water-ice plumes. It includes both wide-angle and narrow-angle lenses for broad and zoomed-in perspectives.
2. Ice Penetrating Radar (REASON): The Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) will send radio waves to penetrate Europa's ice shell, mapping its thickness and detecting potential subsurface lakes or the ocean below. It will also study ice-water interactions and search for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity.
3. Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS): An infrared camera system that will measure Europa's surface temperatures to detect warmer areas that might indicate recent geological activity or ice movement. It helps identify active regions, such as potential sites of water vapor plumes or surface fractures.
4. Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE): A spectrometer that will map Europa's surface composition by analyzing reflected sunlight across a wide range of wavelengths. It aims to identify water ice, salts, organics, and other compounds crucial for understanding Europa's chemical environment.
5. Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS): This instrument will study Europa's thin atmosphere (exosphere) and search for plumes of water vapor that might erupt from the moon’s surface, potentially providing direct access to subsurface material. It will also analyze how Jupiter’s radiation affects Europa’s surface.
6. Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX): A highly sensitive tool designed to analyze the composition of Europa’s atmosphere and any ejected material, such as particles from plumes. MASPEX will detect gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, and organic molecules, crucial for assessing habitability.
7. SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA): SUDA will analyze small particles ejected from Europa’s surface, such as dust or plume material, to provide insight into the composition of the ice and potential subsurface ocean. It complements MASPEX by directly sampling and analyzing the surface debris.
8. Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS): This instrument measures the magnetic field and plasma environment around Europa. By studying how Europa interacts with Jupiter’s magnetic field, PIMS helps determine the thickness of the ice shell and the depth and salinity of the subsurface ocean.
9. Gravity/Radio Science (RIME): Using radio waves, this experiment will measure Europa’s gravity field and variations during flybys. This data will help scientists better understand the moon’s internal structure, including the size and dynamics of the ocean beneath its ice.
10. Magnetometer (ICEMAG): The magnetometer will measure Europa’s magnetic field to help confirm the existence and characteristics of the subsurface ocean, including its depth and salinity. It will track changes in the magnetic field caused by the movement of Europa through Jupiter's magnetosphere.

• The mission is designed to minimize radiation exposure and maximize data return by collecting data during flybys and transmitting it to Earth during the long intervals between them.
• The mission complements the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which will also study Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, enhancing our understanding of the Jovian system.
• Europa Clipper's findings will help identify potential landing sites for a future Europa lander mission, supporting the search for extraterrestrial life.
• The mission's cost is approximately $4.25 billion, with major contributions from institutions like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
• As a public engagement initiative, NASA invited globally to submit their names through “Message in a bottle”, which were etched on a microchip aboard Europa Clipper. Over 2.6 million names were included.
• In addition to the names, the spacecraft carries a specially commissioned poem, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa", by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. The poem reflects humanity’s curiosity and longing to explore the unknown.
• NASA provides a wealth of educational materials for students, educators, and space enthusiasts, including Europa Clipper-themed lesson plans, interactive activities, and STEM challenges aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.
• The mission encourages citizen scientists to get involved, particularly in data analysis, where the public can assist in identifying features on Europa’s surface, enhancing collective scientific efforts.

• The outside of the Europa Clipper commemorative plate also features waveforms that are visual representations of the sound waves formed by the word "water" in 103 languages