http://www.leonarddavid.com/a-human-touch-on-the-icy-moons-of-jupiter-saturn/
Does anyone know what propellant will be used for Europa Clipper's thrusters? Is it ion, mono, or biprop?
Quote from: sevenperforce on 06/27/2017 05:11 pmDoes anyone know what propellant will be used for Europa Clipper's thrusters? Is it ion, mono, or biprop?Pretty sure it's bipropellant; NTO/MMT combo with the later doing double-duty for small maneuvers and attitude. Pretty much similar to what Cassini or MRO used. NASA may debate on which fuel to use for a human mission, but with probes they stick with known mono propellants or a bi-setup when big orbit insertions unavoidable.
Quote from: redliox on 06/27/2017 05:59 pmQuote from: sevenperforce on 06/27/2017 05:11 pmDoes anyone know what propellant will be used for Europa Clipper's thrusters? Is it ion, mono, or biprop?Pretty sure it's bipropellant; NTO/MMT combo with the later doing double-duty for small maneuvers and attitude. Pretty much similar to what Cassini or MRO used. NASA may debate on which fuel to use for a human mission, but with probes they stick with known mono propellants or a bi-setup when big orbit insertions unavoidable.FYI. MRO was monoprop.
Europa Clipper Update Planned for 2017 Mars Society Convention The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Pappalardo, a Project Scientist in JPL’s Planetary Science Division, will provide an update about NASA’s Europa Clipper mission during the 20th Annual International Mars Society Convention, scheduled for September 7-10, 2017 at the University of California Irvine. Due for launch in the 2020’s, the Europa Clipper mission will place a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter in order to perform a detailed investigation of the giant planet's moon Europa - a world that shows strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust and which could host conditions favorable for life. Dr. Pappalardo’s research focuses on processes that have shaped the icy satellite moons of the outer solar system, especially Europa, the nature, origin and evolution of bright grooved terrain on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and the geological implications of geyser-like activity on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Prior to joining JPL in 2006, Dr. Pappalardo served as an Assistant Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Astrophysical & Planetary Science Department. For more details about the 2017 Mars Society Convention, including registration information for the four-day convention and evening banquet, please visit our web site (www.marssociety.org). The full 2017 speaker schedule will be posted online in the near future.
WitnessesDr. Jim GreenDirector, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASADr. Kenneth FarleyMars Rover 2020 Project Scientist; Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Robert PappalardoEuropa Clipper Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Linda T. Elkins-TantonDirector and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche MissionDr. William B. McKinnonCo-Chair, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science; Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
Space Subcommittee Hearing- Planetary Flagship Missions: Mars Rover 2020 and Europa ClipperQuoteWitnessesDr. Jim GreenDirector, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASADr. Kenneth FarleyMars Rover 2020 Project Scientist; Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Robert PappalardoEuropa Clipper Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of TechnologyDr. Linda T. Elkins-TantonDirector and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, NASA Psyche MissionDr. William B. McKinnonCo-Chair, National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science; Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louishttps://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/space-subcommittee-hearing-planetary-flagship-missions-mars-rover-2020-and
We present a daytime thermal image of Europa taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The imaged region includes the area northwest of Pwyll Crater, which is associated with a nighttime thermal excess seen by the Galileo Photopolarimeter Radiometer and with two potential plume detections. We develop a global thermal model of Europa and simulate both the daytime and nighttime thermal emission to determine if the nighttime thermal anomaly is caused by excess endogenic heat flow, as might be expected from a plume source region. We find that the nighttime and daytime brightness temperatures near Pwyll Crater cannot be matched by including excess heat flow at that location. Rather, we can successfully model both measurements by increasing the local thermal inertia of the surface.
Proceeding with development of a Mars Ascent Vehicle and fetch rover for a launch in 2026 will strain NASA’s planetary science budget.The multibillion-dollar Europa Clipper mission is scheduled for launch in the early 2020s to make dozens of low-altitude flybys of Jupiter’s ice-covered moon, and NASA is also studying a Europa lander that could launch later in the decade. Europa Clipper is an approved mission, while the lander is still awaiting a go-ahead from NASA Headquarters.
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustNiebur: concerned about growth in resources for payloads on Europa Clipper. Reporting plan in place to monitor instruments in development.
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustNiebur: Europa Lander had mission concept review in June; still evaluating different options for mission, so premature for instrument AO.
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustBob Pappalardo, JPL, at OPAG meeting: Europa Clipper spacecraft now up to 4.5 solar panels per wing for add’l power for instruments.
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustPappalardo: already started preliminary design reviews for subsystems of Europa Clipper. Full project PDR in August 2018.
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustNiebur reiterates that NASA is “reconsidering the trade space” for Europa Lander, which take some time. “Science is on the table.”7:59 pm · 6 Sep 2017
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustQ: cost estimate for Europa Lander?Niebur: estimates in progress, not yet briefed to HQ. Prefer they hear it from us first, not Twitter.8:03 pm · 6 Sep 2017
Jeff Foust @jeff_foustReplying to @jabe8SLS is currently the only launch vehicle under consideration for launching Europa Lander.
WASHINGTON — NASA is continuing to examine various, potentially less expensive options for a mission to land on Jupiter’s moon Europa even after completing a recent review, postponing a call for instruments for the spacecraft.At a meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) Sept. 6 in La Jolla, California, Curt Niebur, a program scientist in the planetary science division at NASA Headquarters, said mission planners are continuing to examine several factors, including mission cost and science return, as they evaluate the design of the mission.The lander mission, he said, successfully passed an early-stage review called a mission concept review in June. However, he said the agency had not settled on a specific, single concept for the mission.“As a result of that mission concept review, what we want to do is essentially continue exploring the different options we have for a Europa lander mission,” he said. “We want to continue balancing the trade amongst risk, cost and science return.”
Progress is going well on Europa Clipper, Niebur and others said at the OPAG meeting. The mission passed a major project milestone called Key Decision Point B in February, allowing it to enter a preliminary design phase. Robert Pappalardo, project scientist for the mission, said at the OPAG meeting that the mission is on schedule to complete a series of preliminary design reviews by next August.One issue with Europa Clipper that Niebur raised is the growth in resources in the spacecraft’s instrument payload. “It wasn’t so much that the resources grew, but it was the amount that they grew,” he said. The mission, he said, has put into place a “resource monitoring plan” to track that growth, and understand what instruments are having issues as early as possible.Power demands from those instruments, though, have led to a design change in the spacecraft. The spacecraft’s two solar arrays now consist of four and a half panels each, up from four panels from earlier designs. “We needed to increase the total size of the arrays slightly in order to accommodate the energy demands of the payload,” Pappalardo said.
Further to the above here is the related article.NASA studying less expensive options for Europa lander mission
Hill, discussing SLS use for Europa Clipper: launch date drifting later into the 2020s, but Congress could add $ to move it up. #VonBraun
Quote Hill, discussing SLS use for Europa Clipper: launch date drifting later into the 2020s, but Congress could add $ to move it up. #VonBraunhttps://mobile.twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/923202544100413441
I knew this woman who wanted to have a Quote from: Star One on 10/25/2017 08:07 pmQuote Hill, discussing SLS use for Europa Clipper: launch date drifting later into the 2020s, but Congress could add $ to move it up. #VonBraunhttps://mobile.twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/923202544100413441I knew this woman who wanted a baby, but didn't want to wait 9 months for it to arrive, so she got eight of her friends together and the nine women were able to have a baby in one month...