October 2024 will see the launch of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa to search for signs of habitability.
Here on Earth, where there’s water, there’s life, which one of the reasons why astronomers search for water beyond Earth.
But is that true elsewhere in the Solar System?
It’s thought that one of Jupiter’s icy moons, Europa, is home to a subsurface ocean of liquid water that could potentially be home to some kind of microbial life.
In 2024 NASA plans to send its Europa Clipper spacecraft to thoroughly investigate Jupiter's moon Europa and determine how likely it is that life might be hiding under the ice.
In this way, it will be covering territory similar to that explored by the European JUICE mission to Jupiter and its moons.
Science goals
Following its launch, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will make the journey to Europa to map the Jovian moon inside and out.
Using cameras and spectrometers, it will create a detailed atlas of the entire surface, looking for signs of organic chemicals that could form the building blocks of life.
Europa Clipper will also gain a better understanding of the geological processes that shape the moon’s face.
Meanwhile, radar, magnetometers and gravity measurements will allow Europa Clipper to look under the surface, finally confirming whether or not the subsurface ocean even exists.
These measurements will be able to assess the thickness of the ice shell, the depth of the ocean and even its salinity.
It will also keep an eye out for signs of water plumes erupting into the moon’s atmosphere, which have been hinted at by other observations.
The launch of Europa Clipper will see a new chapter in the exploration of this icy moon.
Europa Clipper launch and journey
Europa Clipper is due to launch in October 2024, but won’t reach the Jupiter system until April 2030.
Upon its arrival, the spacecraft won’t be able to orbit the moon directly as it lies in an area of intense radiation created by Jupiter’s strong magnetic field.
Instead, the spacecraft will fly in a wide, looping orbit around the planet, swooping in past the moon to get as close as 25km from the surface.
Europa Clipper will fly by Europa approximately 50 times in this way, building our fullest-ever picture of what lies beneath the surface of this mysterious moon.
This article appeared in the January 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine
