// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Europa
Europa is a moon of Jupiter believed to harbor a vast subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. This makes it a prime candidate for extraterrestrial life within our solar system.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A Galilean moon of Jupiter characterized by a smooth, icy crust overlying a vast subsurface saltwater ocean, making it a prime astrobiological target for potential extraterrestrial life due to tidal heating.
BACKGROUND
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Jupiter's moon Europa
- Icy moon
- Ocean moon
USAGE NOTE
Future missions like Europa Clipper will investigate Europa's ocean for signs of life.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Europa.
JPL is the lead NASA center for the Europa Clipper mission. They are responsible for the overall project management, system engineering, design, and assembly of the spacecraft destined to perform detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa.
ESA is developing the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission. While its primary focus is Ganymede, the spacecraft will perform two flybys of Europa to study its geology, potential subsurface ocean, and composition.
APL is a key partner on the Europa Clipper mission, developing several scientific instruments, including the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) and the main electronics unit for the radar instrument (REASON), which will probe Europa's ice shell.
SwRI is leading the development of two major instruments for the Europa Clipper spacecraft: the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration (MASPEX) to analyze the moon's thin atmosphere and any plumes, and the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS).
As the prime contractor for ESA's JUICE mission, Airbus is responsible for the design, development, production, and testing of the spacecraft that will conduct flybys of Europa.
ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration leads the team for the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS) on the Europa Clipper mission. This instrument will act as a heat detector to scan Europa’s surface for warmer regions.
NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Europa Clipper mission. The spacecraft will launch on a Falcon Heavy rocket, which provides the necessary performance to send the probe on its journey to the Jovian system.
Honeybee Robotics develops advanced robotic systems for space exploration. They have designed and prototyped drilling and sampling technologies, such as the TRIDENT drill, specifically for potential future lander missions to penetrate Europa's icy crust.