Author Topic: Europa Exploration Strategy  (Read 1700 times)

Offline DLR

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Europa Exploration Strategy
« on: 05/17/2011 10:48 pm »
I'm currently reading "Unmasking Europa" by Richard Greenberg. It's a very interesting book which talks about the idea of the Europan ice crust being very thin, a few km at most, which goes against most established models which assume a layer of convective ice tens of kilometres thick, completely isolating the ocean from the surface. In the thin-ice model, there is a lot of contact between the surface and the liquid, leading to an oxygen-rich ocean capable of supporting complex life.

In my opinion, Europa is the most interesting place in the solar system. Luckily, NASA is going to send a probe to the Jovian Moon around 2020. I wonder whether it will be possible to determine the thickness of the ice on that mission already, perhaps by including a small lander which probes the ice sheet with remote sensing equipment. Perhaps, if the thin-ice model is correct, we could land near fresh cracks and even look for frozen life forms.

What technology would allow us to penetrate the ice and explore the ocean beneath? How near-term would it be?

Offline Proponent

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Re: Europa Exploration Strategy
« Reply #1 on: 05/18/2011 04:11 am »
I'm currently reading "Unmasking Europa" by Richard Greenberg. It's a very interesting book which talks about the idea of the Europan ice crust being very thin, a few km at most, which goes against most established models which assume a layer of convective ice tens of kilometres thick, completely isolating the ocean from the surface. In the thin-ice model, there is a lot of contact between the surface and the liquid, leading to an oxygen-rich ocean capable of supporting complex life.

In my opinion, Europa is the most interesting place in the solar system. Luckily, NASA is going to send a probe to the Jovian Moon around 2020. I wonder whether it will be possible to determine the thickness of the ice on that mission already, perhaps by including a small lander which probes the ice sheet with remote sensing equipment. Perhaps, if the thin-ice model is correct, we could land near fresh cracks and even look for frozen life forms.

What technology would allow us to penetrate the ice and explore the ocean beneath? How near-term would it be?

NASA might launch a Europa orbiter in 2020; at this point it's just a proposal and it's up against serious competition.

One idea proposed for exploring the ocean has been to put a lander on the ice and then melt through the ice with an RTG.  I have some vague recollection that the particular proposal I heard about (this was in a talk by Geoff Landis of NASA Glenn several years ago) the RTG would also have been the power source for the lander, although I'm having trouble imagining that an engineer would be willing to separate the power source from the craft by a long distance.

Short of penetrating the ice, it's also been suggested that one could drop an impactor on the ice and then fly through the debris LCROSS-style.

Offline ugordan

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Re: Europa Exploration Strategy
« Reply #2 on: 05/18/2011 09:25 am »
NASA might launch a Europa orbiter in 2020; at this point it's just a proposal and it's up against serious competition.

It wasn't against serious competition, the Jupiter Europa Orbiter was selected as the next Flagship mission to fly, in tandem with ESA's own Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter. JEO was AFAIK supposed to be near/at the stage of accepting instrument proposals when the NASA budget realities and the Decadal Survey basically put the mission in limbo. Again.

It's depressing to think the last flagship was launched in 1997 and the next one will be at least 20 years after that, if ever...

I don't think there's much point in contemplating Europa landers when even an orbiter can't be afforded.

Offline Archibald

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Re: Europa Exploration Strategy
« Reply #3 on: 05/18/2011 01:24 pm »
Over the last days I've peered through the EJSM litterature.
There might be an armada there in 2020, as big as the Halley 1986 fleet!

In February 2009 ESA hold a workshop with the russians about potential Europa landers. ESA Europa probe is competing with two projects, decision point circa 2013.
JAXA also had its own Jupiter probe to add to the armada. The Jupiter Magnetospheric Orbiter was to drop another probe, to the Jupiter trojans.
Could not find anything more recent than 2010, however... anyone knows ?
Han shot first and Gwynne Shotwell !

Offline IsaacKuo

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Re: Europa Exploration Strategy
« Reply #4 on: 05/18/2011 01:47 pm »
It's depressing to think the last flagship was launched in 1997 and the next one will be at least 20 years after that, if ever...
A 20 year cycle would actually be a good fit with launch windows to the Saturn system.  Not that I would like a Jupiter mission to take the place of a Saturn mission, of course.

Offline DLR

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Re: Europa Exploration Strategy
« Reply #5 on: 05/19/2011 09:20 am »
Europa is the most interesting place in the solar system.

If the thin-ice model accurately describes the surface, a lander may only need to melt through two meters of ice or so to near a relatively fresh crack to perhaps find frozen life forms, bacteria, or, hopefully, more complex life as well.

A lander would be a logical follow-on to the Europa orbiter.

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