[meteorite-list] NASA's Europa Mission Begins with Selection of Science Instruments

Tue May 26 15:58:34 EDT 2015

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4598

NASA's Europa Mission Begins with Selection of Science Instruments
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
May 26, 2015

NASA has selected nine science instruments for a mission to Jupiter's 
moon Europa, to investigate whether the mysterious icy moon could harbor 
conditions suitable for life.

NASA's Galileo mission yielded strong evidence that Europa, about the 
size of Earth's moon, has an ocean beneath a frozen crust of unknown thickness. 
If proven to exist, this global ocean could have more than twice as much 
water as Earth. With abundant salt water, a rocky sea floor, and the energy 
and chemistry provided by tidal heating, Europa could be the best place 
in the solar system to look for present day life beyond our home planet.

"Europa has tantalized us with its enigmatic icy surface and evidence 
of a vast ocean, following the amazing data from 11 flybys of the Galileo 
spacecraft over a decade ago and recent Hubble observations suggesting 
plumes of water shooting out from the moon," said John Grunsfeld, associate 
administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "We're 
excited about the potential of this new mission and these instruments 
to unravel the mysteries of Europa in our quest to find evidence of life 
beyond Earth."

NASA's fiscal year 2016 budget request includes $30 million to formulate 
a mission to Europa. The mission would send a solar-powered spacecraft 
into a long, looping orbit around the gas giant Jupiter to perform repeated 
close flybys of Europa over a three-year period. In total, the mission 
would perform 45 flybys at altitudes ranging from 16 miles to 1,700 miles 
(25 kilometers to 2,700 kilometers).

The payload of selected science instruments includes cameras and spectrometers 
to produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface and determine its 
composition. An ice penetrating radar will determine the thickness of 
the moon's icy shell and search for subsurface lakes similar to those 
beneath Antarctica. The mission also will carry a magnetometer to measure 
strength and direction of the moon's magnetic field, which will allow 
scientists to determine the depth and salinity of its ocean.

A thermal instrument will scour Europa's frozen surface in search of recent 
eruptions of warmer water, while additional instruments will search for 
evidence of water and tiny particles in the moon's thin atmosphere. NASA's 
Hubble Space Telescope observed water vapor above the south polar region 
of Europa in 2012, providing the first strong evidence of water plumes. 
If the plumes' existence is confirmed - and they're linked to a subsurface 
ocean - it will help scientists investigate the chemical makeup of Europa's 
potentially habitable environment while minimizing the need to drill through 
layers of ice.

Last year, NASA invited researchers to submit proposals for instruments 
to study Europa. Thirty-three were reviewed and, of those, nine were selected 
for a mission that will launch in the 2020s.

"This is a giant step in our search for oases that could support life 
in our own celestial backyard," said Curt Niebur, Europa program scientist 
at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We're confident that this versatile 
set of science instruments will produce exciting discoveries on a much-anticipated 
mission."

The NASA selectees are:

Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) -- principal investigator 
Dr. Joseph Westlake of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), 
Laurel, Maryland. This instrument works in conjunction with a magnetometer 
and is key to determining Europa's ice shell thickness, ocean depth, and 
salinity by correcting the magnetic induction signal for plasma currents 
around Europa.

Interior Characterization of Europa using Magnetometry (ICEMAG) -- principal 
investigator Dr. Carol Raymond of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 
Pasadena, California. This magnetometer will measure the magnetic field 
near Europa and - in conjunction with the PIMS instrument - infer the 
location, thickness and salinity of Europa's subsurface ocean using multi-frequency 
electromagnetic sounding.

Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) -- principal investigator 
Dr. Diana Blaney of JPL. This instrument will probe the composition of 
Europa, identifying and mapping the distributions of organics, salts, 
acid hydrates, water ice phases, and other materials to determine the 
habitability of Europa's ocean.

Europa Imaging System (EIS) -- principal investigator Dr. Elizabeth Turtle 
of APL. The wide and narrow angle cameras on this instrument will map 
most of Europa at 50 meter (164 foot) resolution, and will provide images 
of areas of Europa's surface at up to 100 times higher resolution.

Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) 
-- principal investigator Dr. Donald Blankenship of the University of 
Texas, Austin. This dual-frequency ice penetrating radar instrument is 
designed to characterize and sound Europa's icy crust from the near-surface 
to the ocean, revealing the hidden structure of Europa's ice shell and 
potential water within.

Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS) -- principal investigator 
Dr. Philip Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe. This "heat 
detector" will provide high spatial resolution, multi-spectral thermal 
imaging of Europa to help detect active sites, such as potential vents 
erupting plumes of water into space.

MAss SPectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX) -- principal 
investigator Dr. Jack (Hunter) Waite of the Southwest Research Institute 
(SwRI), San Antonio. This instrument will determine the composition of 
the surface and subsurface ocean by measuring Europa's extremely tenuous 
atmosphere and any surface material ejected into space.

Ultraviolet Spectrograph/Europa (UVS) -- principal investigator Dr. Kurt 
Retherford of SwRI. This instrument will adopt the same technique used 
by the Hubble Space Telescope to detect the likely presence of water plumes 
erupting from Europa's surface. UVS will be able to detect small plumes 
and will provide valuable data about the composition and dynamics of the 
moon's rarefied atmosphere.

SUrface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA) -- principal investigator Dr. Sascha 
Kempf of the University of Colorado, Boulder. This instrument will measure 
the composition of small, solid particles ejected from Europa, providing 
the opportunity to directly sample the surface and potential plumes on 
low-altitude flybys.

Separate from the selectees listed above, the SPace Environmental and 
Composition Investigation near the Europan Surface (SPECIES) instrument 
has been chosen for further technology development. Led by principal investigator 
Dr. Mehdi Benna at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, 
this combined neutral mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph will be 
developed for other mission opportunities.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington conducts a wide variety 
of research and scientific exploration programs for Earth studies, space 
weather, the solar system and the universe.

For more information about Europa, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/europanews

Media Contact

Preston Dyches
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-7013
preston.dyches at jpl.nasa.gov 

Dwayne Brown
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

2015-178