Started streaming 2 minutes ago“Follow the water” has long been the mantra of astrobiologists in search of life in the universe, as H2O remains the fundamental building block of all life as we know it. To truly understand the nature of possible ecosystems outside our planet, we must directly investigate the liquid water that our NASA missions have discovered within moons and planets across our solar system.From Callisto and Ganymede to Enceladus, what could future exploration of these watery worlds look like?Join us for a live talk where we’ll discuss the scientific allure of ocean worlds, how we might investigate the surface of these celestial bodies, and learn about robotic technologies being developed at JPL that could someday penetrate a frozen world’s icy shell to explore a vast ocean hidden beneath.Speakers: Dr. Cynthia Phillips, planetary geologist and Europa Clipper project staff scientist at NASA JPLDr. Benjamin Hockman, robotics technologist at NASA JPLHost: Gregory Smith, communications and education directorate at NASA JPLCo-host: Laurance Fauconnet, solar system public engagement lead at NASA JPLNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
So I'm going to Florida to see this launch. Does anybody have the launch dates/times? I know the October 10 time, but not the rest.
100.000 chest x-rays radiation dose per fly by.
At the risk of being pedantic and showing my insular background, it is only recently (within the past few years) that I have learned that 100.000 is 1e+5 or one hundred thousand. It is also roughly in that same time frame that a billion could mean 1e+9 or 1e+12.
How long is it estimated that Europa has been active? When did it fall into resonance with Gannymede? Because before that point it would've just been a frozen moon with no heat inside.
on NASA’s Europa Clipper SpacecraftTechnicians work to complete operations before propellant load occurs ahead of launch for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Europa could have all the “ingredients” for life as we know it: water, organics, chemical energy, and stability. Europa Clipper’s launch period opens on October 10, 2024.This image shows technicians working to complete operations prior to propellant load for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettTechnicians completed loading propellants in the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 22, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Housed in the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper’s propulsion module is an aluminum cylinder 10 feet (3 meters) long and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, and it holds the spacecraft’s array of 24 engines and 6067.6 pounds (2,752.2 kilograms) of propellant in two propulsion tanks, as well as the spacecraft’s helium pressurant tanks. The fuel and oxidizer held by the tanks will flow to the 24 engines, creating a controlled chemical reaction to produce thrust in space during its journey to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.After launch, the spacecraft plans to fly by Mars in February 2025, then back by Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum. With help of these “gravity assists,” Europa Clipper will achieve the velocity needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030.NASA is targeting launch on Thursday, Oct. 10, aboard a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
Quote on NASA’s Europa Clipper SpacecraftTechnicians work to complete operations before propellant load occurs ahead of launch for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Europa could have all the “ingredients” for life as we know it: water, organics, chemical energy, and stability. Europa Clipper’s launch period opens on October 10, 2024.This image shows technicians working to complete operations prior to propellant load for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettTechnicians completed loading propellants in the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 22, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Housed in the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper’s propulsion module is an aluminum cylinder 10 feet (3 meters) long and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, and it holds the spacecraft’s array of 24 engines and 6067.6 pounds (2,752.2 kilograms) of propellant in two propulsion tanks, as well as the spacecraft’s helium pressurant tanks. The fuel and oxidizer held by the tanks will flow to the 24 engines, creating a controlled chemical reaction to produce thrust in space during its journey to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.After launch, the spacecraft plans to fly by Mars in February 2025, then back by Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum. With help of these “gravity assists,” Europa Clipper will achieve the velocity needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030.NASA is targeting launch on Thursday, Oct. 10, aboard a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
Technical nit-pick here. I believe the Mars flyby will *decrease* Europa Clipper's momentum. This places the periapsis inside the Earth's orbit, so when it returns to Earth it can profit from the Earth flyby. This flyby more than compensates for the loss of momentum at Mars, by a ratio of about 4:1 . Juno did exactly the same thing, but with a Deep Space Maneuver instead of a Mars flyby.To get an intuitive feel for how this (counter-intuitive) maneuver works, imagine the limiting case of a deep space maneuver out somewhere past Pluto. At this point, it takes an arbitrarily small delta-v to remove the angular momentum completely. Now the spacecraft falls straight for the Sun. When it reaches the Earth, it will be going very nearly the same speed it left (minus some tiny amount from the maneuver). But then, if it makes a flyby with a 90 degree turn in the Earth's orbital direction, it gains 30 km/sec in the Solar reference frame. So the tiny deep space burn was massively multiplied by the next orbital flyby. A deep space burn at about Mars orbit (or a Mars deflection) does not gain such a huge amount, but still gains about 4:1 in delta-V.
Really looking forward to this mission. Europa is a very curious body and after Mars is probably the most interesting exobiological site in the Solar system.I'm hopeful that Europa Clipper will be able to withstand the radiation for long enough to get an extended mission, perhaps for further flybys of Europa, or a series of flybys in the reduced radiation enviroment around Callisto.
Oh I agree, and have similar hopes for mission extensions. JUICE is supposed to do a series of Callisto flybys, although when I last read about those they'd be repetitive to the point that a strip of the moon gets most of the coverage; alot of intense study but the rest of Callisto might get neglected; I would like to think 'Clipper could image more of it during its main tour or extensions.I'm slightly worried for the electronics, but there's enough confidence they'll hold at least for the main mission. I wager a single mission extension of 2 years, like Galileo's GEM campaign, would be enough of a slight gamble. Otherwise, I assume how much fuel leftover from the main mission would be the driver along with funding, of course.
Not much point to adding science observations of Ganymede given that JUICE will orbit it nor Callisto given that a planned/approved Chinese mission will orbit it. Io is too deep in the radiation well, I suspect.
Quote from: vjkane on 09/26/2024 07:14 pmNot much point to adding science observations of Ganymede given that JUICE will orbit it nor Callisto given that a planned/approved Chinese mission will orbit it. Io is too deep in the radiation well, I suspect.I have mixed feelings about the Chinese, but still it'll expand knowledge and having 3 of 4 Galilean moons with massively updated maps is a scientific godsend. It would be interesting when shielding becomes strong enough to handle Io, although I'd like to think flybys to investigate its plumes nowadays could be possible.As for 'Clipper, is there any way to guess how much fuel could be leftover for an extension?
Falcon 9's grounded for a bit; any chance we should worry for 'Clipper's ride?
I would think that an interplanetary trajectory would not have to worry about second stage disposal on Earth.