. 24/7 Space News .
OUTER PLANETS
NASA starts building Europa Clipper to investigate icy, ocean moon of Jupiter
by Paul Brinkmann
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 3, 2021

NASA has started to assemble the Europa Clipper spacecraft that will probe the icy, scarred surface of Jupiter's moon, Europa, starting in 2030.

The agency has been designing and building 10 instruments for the $4.5 billion mission since 2016, and technicians are assembling the parts at NASA's California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA announced Thursday.

NASA has tapped SpaceX to launch Europa Clipper from Florida in 2024 aboard the most powerful operational rocket today, the Falcon Heavy.

The Clipper carries more instruments than most interplanetary missions, Robert Pappalardo, NASA's Europa Clipper Project Scientist, told UPI in an email interview.

Ultimately, scientists want to explore whether Jupiter's fourth-largest moon has conditions to support life in its deep oceans, he said.

"It has a complement of 10 highly capable instruments with the overall goal of understanding the potential habitability of Europa," Pappalardo said. "Europa Clipper has the largest number of instruments and coordinated investigations of any mission going to the outer solar system."

Imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope showed icy plumes erupting from Europa's surface, indicating water below the ice that may be heated by Jupiter's extreme gravity.

But no mission to Jupiter has had the ability to look below Europa's surface for evidence of liquid water, he said.

"The Europa Clipper's sophisticated instrument suite is specifically designed to ... probe its watery interior, evaluate its composition and provide information on its geology and level of current activity," Pappalardo said.

If successful, the probe may designate a landing site for a future mission that could drill into the ice or probe it more deeply from the surface, he said.

"If we were to find an especially interesting location, with evidence for near-surface water, evidence of recent heat or plumes, and perhaps organic materials -- then that would be the kind of oasis that we would want to target," Pappalardo said.

The spacecraft will be about the size of an SUV with solar panels extending nearly the length of a basketball court.

Supply chain issues that have plagued high-tech industries since the COVID-19 pandemic began may still be a challenge, but NASA believes it can stay on schedule, Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper deputy project manager, said in an email.

"The team has been building the subsystems and instruments throughout the pandemic and has successfully managed the supply chain issues to date," Evans said. "With this resiliency, and with the team we have in place, we have high confidence in the overall schedule to meet our 2024 launch date."


Related Links
The million outer planets of a star called Sol


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


OUTER PLANETS
NASA Telescope Spots Highest-Energy Light Ever Detected From Jupiter
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 11, 2022
The planet's auroras are known to produce low-energy X-ray light. A new study finally reveals higher-frequency X-rays and explains why they eluded another mission 30 years ago. Scientists have been studying Jupiter up close since the 1970s, but the gas giant is still full of mysteries. New observations by NASA's NuSTAR space observatory have revealed the highest-energy light ever detected from Jupiter. The light, in the form of X-rays that NuSTAR can detect, is also the highest-energy light ever d ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

OUTER PLANETS
Space Station to host 'self-healing' quantum communications tech demo

'TechWorks' brings dreams of Jordan inventors to life

How to reach a tumbling target in space

NASA exploring ways to keep ISS afloat without Russian help: official

OUTER PLANETS
First Platforms are Retracted Ahead of Artemis I First Rollout to Launch Pad

NASA Announces Launch Options for 2022 Student Launch Competition

SpaceX launches 47 Starlink satellites from Florida

Russia stops deliveries of rocket engines to US, Roscosmos Head Says

OUTER PLANETS
Moon and Mars superoxides for oxygen farming

A River Runs Through It: Onward to the Delta

Challenges await sample-return expedition to Mars

Sols 3401-3402: Sand, Boulders and Ridges, Oh My

OUTER PLANETS
China launches seven new satellites

China's space station to host 6 astronauts by end of 2022

China establishes deep space exploration laboratory

Tiangong scheduled for completion this year

OUTER PLANETS
Airbus Ventures invests in CesiumAstro's Series B

Sidus Space teams with Aitech Systems to support LizzieSat constellation

Xplore secures $16.2M in venture funding and customer contracts

HKATG is getting ready for its Golden Bauhinia Constellation

OUTER PLANETS
NeoPhotonics offers ultra-narrow linewidth laser for LEO satellites

Scientists think an old rocket just hit the Moon going 5,800 mph

Using artificial intelligence to find anomalies hiding in massive datasets

Sanctions on Russia add to troubles facing global helium industry

OUTER PLANETS
What's happening in the depths of distant worlds?

Microscopic view on asteroid collisions could help us understand planet formation

Ice-free in icy worlds

New astrobiology research predicts life 'as we don't know it'

OUTER PLANETS
NASA starts building Europa Clipper to investigate icy, ocean moon of Jupiter

NASA begins assembly of Europa Clipper

New Horizons team puts names to the places on Arrokoth

NASA Telescope Spots Highest-Energy Light Ever Detected From Jupiter









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.