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Europa Lander

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Europa Lander
Artist's concept of the Europa Lander with Jupiter and Io in the background
Mission typeAstrobiology
OperatorNASA
Websitewww.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-lander/
Mission duration≤ 22 days on the surface[1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeLander
Launch mass16.6 metric tons[1]
Power50 kWh (from batteries only)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date2025-2030 (proposed)[2]
RocketSpace Launch Systemor a commercial rocket
Europalander
Europa
On Earth, subglacial microbial communities atBlood Fallssurvive in cold darkness without oxygen, living in brine water belowTaylor Glacier,but come out at this location in Antarctica. The red color comes from dissolved iron.

TheEuropa Landeris a proposedastrobiologymission concept byNASAto send alandertoEuropa,an icy moon ofJupiter.[3][4]If funded and developed as alarge strategic science mission,it would be launched in 2027 to complement the studies by theEuropa Clipperorbiter mission and perform analyses on site.[5]

The objectives of the mission are to search forbiosignaturesat the subsurface ≈10 cm, to characterize the composition of non-ice near-subsurface material, and determine the proximity of liquid water and recently erupted material near the lander's location.

History[edit]

NASA had previously evaluated a Europa Lander concept in 2005 with the Europa Lander Mission concept.[6]Also, a lander was evaluated in 2012.[7]There was continued support for Europa missions, including in 2014, when the U.S. Congress House Appropriations Committee announced a bipartisan bill that included US$80 million in funding to continue the Europa mission concept studies.[8][9]

TheUnited States Congressissued a congressional directive on a Europa Lander, and NASA initiated a study in 2016, assessing and evaluating the concept.[3]The mission concept is being supported by theOcean Worlds Exploration Program.[10]NASA's Planetary Science Division delivered its report in early February 2017.[3]This was a six-month-long study by a Science Definition Team.[11][12]The study assesses the science value and engineering design of a potential Europa lander mission.[12]

NASA's 2021 fiscal year budget in Congress's Omnibus Spending Bill did not include any language mandating or funding the Europa Lander as previous bills, making the mission's future uncertain.[13]

The Europa Lander was considered by the Planetary Science Decadal Report of 2023─2032 but rejected in favor of theUranus Orbiter and ProbeandEnceladus Orbilander.[14]

Overview[edit]

The primary mission goal is detection of organic indicators of past or present life, calledbiosignatures.[15][3][16]The lander was described as a logical follow-up to theGalileoorbiterand probe mission in the 1990s, for which a major result was the discovery of a large sub-surface ocean that may offer habitable aquatic conditions.[11]

On Earth, life can be found in essentially all locations where water is present. It follows that Europa is an excellent candidate in the search for life elsewhere in theSolar System.[17]This subsurface water may not only be warmed by geological activity, but likely also enriched with dissolved minerals andorganic compounds.[18]

Various ecosystems exist on Earth without any access tosunlightrelying instead onhydrothermal ventsor other sources of chemicals suitable to energy production byextremophiles[19](seechemosynthesis). Measurements to date indicate that Europa has an ocean approximately twice the volume of Earth's oceans. This water layer below the ice may be in contact with the moon's interior allowing ready access to hydrothermal energy and chemistry.[3]A surface mission can take advantage of the relatively young, active surface of Europa as this activity may allow deep subsurface materials to regularly relocate to the surface.[20]

Status[edit]

In 18 July 2017, the House Space Subcommittee held hearings on theEuropa Clipperas a scheduledlarge strategic science missionand to discuss this lander as a possible follow up.[21]The president's 2018 and 2019 federal budget proposals do not fund the Europa Lander, but they did assign US$195 million[22]for concept studies[23][24]and research on the required science instruments.[25]The 2022 omnibus spending bill allocates $14.2 million to Icy Satellites Surface Technology for a future Ocean Worlds lander mission (NASA had requested $5 million for the Europa Lander).[26]

Objectives[edit]

The lander mission would have three main science objectives:[27]

  • Search forbiosignatures.
  • Assess thehabitability of Europaviain situtechniques uniquely available to a landed mission.
  • Characterize the surface and subsurface properties at the scale of the lander to support future exploration of Europa.

Spacecraft[edit]

2019 concept byJPLof the Europa Lander modules[1]

The key phases of the flight are: launch, cruise, de-orbit, descent and landing.[28]The spacecraft would consist of several modules that would be discarded at different phases of its deorbiting and landing sequence. The complete stack would be propelled by the Carrier Stage, that also features thesolar panels.[1]After orbit injection aroundJupiter,the spacecraft would spend about two years adjusting its orbit and velocity before attempting to land on Europa.[1]

In preparation to its landing, the Carrier Stage would be discarded, leaving the spacecraft stack in a configuration called Deorbit Vehicle (DOV) that would decelerate and initiate the descent. The engine module for this phase, called Deorbit Stage (DOS) would be discarded after the burn, leaving what is called the Powered Descent Vehicle (PDV) - which comprises the lander and thesky crane system.The sky crane system would lower the lander with a tether to a soft landing with a 100 m (330 ft) accuracy.[1]

The lander would feature a robotic arm with 5degrees of freedom,that would enable it to dig out several shallow sub-surface samples at a maximum depth of 10 cm (3.9 in) and deliver them to its onboard laboratory.[1]

Power[edit]

Once landed, the lander would operate for up to 22 days by using chemical battery power, rather than aradioisotope thermoelectric generator(RTG) or solar power.[1][12][24]The 2019 concept proposes four batteries, which would provide three times the needed energy for safety margin during its ≈22-day surface operations.[1]The baseline is 7 days to complete its surface mission, the additional 15 days are for contingencies.[1]

Regardless of the power source, one of the limiting factors for the lifetime of the mission may be surviving radiation; a human on the surface of Europa is estimated to experience 540remper day, whereas a typicalEarthsurface dose is about 0.14 rem/year.[29]The probe is designed for a total ionizing dose of 2.3Mradover the 30 day mission.[1]Radiation damaged the electronics of theGalileoorbiter during its mission.[30]

Launch and trajectory[edit]

The launcher would be theSpace Launch System(SLS), with a suggested launch in 2025.[1][31]The SLS is proposed given the spacecraft's mass of 16.6 metric tons, including the solid propellant to place the spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter, and thesky cranelanding system.[32]One calculated trajectory would see a launch aboard SLS in 2025, Earthgravity assistin 2027, and Jupiter/Europa arrival in 2030.[12]It would spend some time orbiting around Jupiter over the next year to maneuver for its landing on Europa.[12]The landing would be performed two years after orbit insertion around Jupiter.[1]

Landing sites[edit]

View of Europa's surface from 560 km (335 miles) altitude, as seen during the closestGalileoflyby

At Europa, it would have to land on the surface, matching its velocity, but with essentially no atmosphere there is no "entry", it is just a descent and landing.[28]The Planetary Society noted that NASA called this DDL — de-orbit, descent, and landing.[28]In 1995, astronomers using theHubble Space Telescopediscovered that Europa has a very tenuousexospherecomposed ofoxygen.[33]Compared toEarth,its atmosphere is thin to the extreme, with pressure at the surface predicted to be 0.1μPa,or 10−12times that of the Earth.[34]

The lander would communicate directly to Earth, but theEuropa Clipper,if still operational, could function as an additional communications relay for the lander.[28]To ensure communication, there is a suggestion to include a telecomm orbiter with the lander mission.[35]

Surface texture

A study published in October 2018 suggests that most of Europa's surface may be covered with closely spaced ice spikes, calledpenitents,as tall as 15 meters (50 ft).[36][37]Although the imaging available from theGalileoorbiterdoes not have the resolution needed to confirm this, radar and thermal data are consistent with this interpretation.[37]This supports the need to first perform high-definition reconnaissance with the ESA'sJupiter Icy Moons Explorer(JUICE) andEuropa Clipper,launching in 2023 and 2024 respectively, before planning a lander mission.[37][38]

Science payload[edit]

The mission concept would require funding and further development to be launched. One of the key requirements is to operate in the radiation environment at the moon's surface.[11][1]The radiation environment at Europa is extreme, so the lander may need additional protection as theJuno Radiation Vaultin theJunoJupiter orbiter.[39]The vault helped reduce radiation exposure to vulnerable systems, especially electronics on the orbiter.

NASA announced in May 2017 to the scientific community to think on possible Europa Lander instruments.[40]The concept study reports were made available in June 2019.[41]

NASA selected 14 potential instruments for maturation under Instrument Concepts for Europa Exploration 2 (ICEE-2) awarding approximately US$2 million each for two years.[25]The ICEE-2 project would allow the maturation of novel instrument approaches to meet the science goals and objectives of the mission.

ICEE-2 awardees[25]
Instrument Principal investigator
C-LIFE:Cold-Lightweight Imagers for Europa Shane Bryne,University of Arizona
ELSSIE:Europa Lander Stereo Spectral Imaging Experiment Scott L. Murchie,Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
CORALS:Characterization of Ocean Residues and Life Signatures Ricardo D. Arevalo,University of Maryland
MASPEX-ORCA:MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration-ORganic Composition Analyzer Christopher R. Glein,Southwest Research Institute
MOAB:Microfluidic Organic Analyzer for Biosignatures Richard A. Mathies,University of California Berkeley
EMILI:Europan Molecular Indicators of Life Investigation[42] W. B. Brinckerhoff,Goddard Space Flight Center
CIRS:Compact Integrated Raman Spectrometer James L. Lambert,Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ELM:Europa Luminescence Microscope Richard Quinn,Ames Research Center
SIIOS:Seismometer to Investigate Ice and Ocean Structure[43] Samuel H. Bailey, University of Arizona
ESP:Europa Seismic Package Mark P. Panning, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
MICA:Microfluidic Icy-World Chemistry Analyzer Antonio J. Ricco, Ames Research Center
MAGNET:Radiation Tolerant Magnetometer Mark B. Moldwin,University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
EMS:Europa Magnetotelluric Sounder Robert E. Grimm, Southwest Research Institute
CADMES:Collaborative Acceptance and Distribution for Measuring Europan Samples System Charles A. Malespin, Goddard Space Flight Center

Planetary protection[edit]

Planetary protectionguidelines require that inadvertent contamination of a Europan ocean by terrestrial organisms must be avoided, to a probability level of less than 1 in 10,000.[15][44]The lander, and landing system components, must be assembled and tested in a clean room where all parts would have to be cleaned or sterilized before they are installed in the spacecraft. After delivering the lander, thesky craneis recommended to fly away into Jupiter for disposal.[45]At the end of the mission, the lander might self-destruct using an incendiary device.[15]That system can also be triggered if the spacecraft loses contact with theEarth.[32]

Europa Clipper[edit]

TheEuropa Clipperis a separately launched spacecraft that would lay a foundation for the Europa Lander mission.[3]Previously, NASA had evaluated launching the orbiter and lander together, but the strong congressional support led to an additional proposal in 2016 for a separate lander mission.[46]TheClipperorbiter will provide reconnaissance data to characterize the radiation environment and help determine a landing location.[47]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijklmnoEuropa Lander Mission Concept OverviewArchived23 September 2019 at theWayback MachineGrace Tan-Wang, Steve Sell, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, AbSciCon2019,Bellevue, Washington- June 26, 2019Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  2. ^Voosen, Paul (29 May 2019)."Without a champion, Europa lander falls to NASA's back burner".Science | AAAS.Retrieved26 August2021.
  3. ^abcdef"NASA Receives Science Report on Europa Lander Concept".NASA/JPL.Retrieved15 February2017.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  4. ^Foust, Jeff (18 July 2017)."JPL moves ahead with Mars and Europa missions despite funding uncertainty".SpaceNews.
  5. ^Foust, Jeff (16 December 2019)."NASA to receive US$22.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 spending bill".SpaceNews.
  6. ^"Small RPS-Enabled Europa Lander Mission"(PDF).NASA–JPL. 13 February 2005. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 6 October 2006.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  7. ^"Europa Lander Study: Louise Prockter for Brian Cooke and the Europa study team"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 January 2017.Retrieved9 September2017.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  8. ^Khan, Amina (15 January 2014)."NASA gets some funding for Mars 2020 rover in federal spending bill".Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^Girardot, Frank C. (14 January 2014)."JPL's Mars 2020 rover benefits from spending bill".Pasadena Star-News.
  10. ^Hendrix, Amanda R.; Hurford, Terry A.; Barge, Laura M.; et al. (2019)."The NASA Roadmap to Ocean Worlds".Astrobiology.19(1): 1–27.Bibcode:2019AsBio..19....1H.doi:10.1089/ast.2018.1955.ISSN1531-1074.PMC6338575.PMID30346215.S2CID53043052.
  11. ^abcSchulze-Makuch, Dirk (13 February 2017)."A New Lander Concept for Europa".Air & Space/Smithsonian.Retrieved15 February2017.
  12. ^abcdeFoust, Jeff (14 February 2017)."Report lays out science case for Europa lander".SpaceNews.
  13. ^Howell, Elizabeth. (22 December 2020)."NASA receives US$23.3 billion for 2021 fiscal year in Congress' omnibus spending bill".Space.
  14. ^Foust, Jeff (19 April 2022)."Planetary science decadal endorses Mars sample return, outer planets missions".SpaceNews.Retrieved19 April2022.
  15. ^abcEuropa Lander Study 2016 Report,NASA, 2016
  16. ^Foust, Jeff (14 February 2017)."Report lays out science case for Europa lander".SpaceNews.Retrieved18 February2017.
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  18. ^Coldewey, Devin (9 February 2017)."NASA's concept Europa lander belongs on the cover of a sci-fi pulp".TechCrunch.Retrieved9 September2017.
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  20. ^Loff, Sarah (1 May 2015)."Reddish Bands on Europa".NASA.Retrieved17 February2017.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  21. ^"Balance of NASA Planetary Science Missions Explored at Hearing".American Institute of Physics. 21 July 2017.
  22. ^"FY19 Appropriations Bills: NASA".American Institute of Physics. 20 June 2018.
  23. ^Clark, Stephen (23 March 2018)."Space Launch System, planetary exploration get big boosts in NASA budget".Spaceflight Now.
  24. ^abFoust, Jeff (29 March 2018)."Europa lander concept redesigned to lower cost and complexity".SpaceNews.
  25. ^abcICEE-2 Overview.Archived19 October 2020 at theWayback MachineJet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA Joel Krajewski, Payload Manager, Europa Lander PreProject 26 June 2019Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  26. ^Smith, Marcia (10 March 2022)."NASA to Get $24 Billion for FY2022, More Than Last Year But Less Than Biden Wanted".spacepolicyonline.
  27. ^Update on the Europa Lander Mission ConceptCynthia B. Phillips, Kevin P. Hand, Morgan L. Cable, Amy E. Hofmann, Kate L. Craft and Europa Project Science and Engineering Teams. 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2019 (LPI Contrib. No. 2132)
  28. ^abcdDavis, Jason (21 February 2017)."NASA's audacious Europa missions are getting closer to reality".The Planetary Society.Retrieved22 February2017.
  29. ^Ringwald, Frederick A. (29 February 2000)."SPS 1020 (Introduction to Space Sciences)".California State University, Fresno. Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2008.Retrieved5 January2014.
  30. ^"Galileo Millennium Mission Status".NASA/JPL.Retrieved9 September2017.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  31. ^Foust, Jeff (17 February 2019)."Final fiscal year 2019 budget bill secures US$21.5 billion for NASA".SpaceNews.
  32. ^abFoust, Jeff (31 March 2017)."Europa lander work continues despite budget uncertainty".SpaceNews.Retrieved31 March2017.
  33. ^Hall, D. T.; Strobel, D. F.; Feldman, P. D.; McGrath, M. A.; Weaver, H. A. (1995). "Detection of an oxygen atmosphere on Jupiter's moon Europa".Nature.373(6516): 677–681.Bibcode:1995Natur.373..677H.doi:10.1038/373677a0.PMID7854447.S2CID4258306.
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  35. ^Telecommunications systems for the NASA Europa missions.Microwave Symposium (IMS), 2017 IEEE MTT-S International, 4–9 June 2017,doi:10.1109/MWSYM.2017.8058576
  36. ^Anderson, Paul Scott (20 October 2018)."Europa may have towering ice spikes on its surface".Earth and Sky.
  37. ^abcFormation of metre-scale bladed roughness on Europa's surface by ablation of iceDaniel E. J. Hobley, Jeffrey M. Moore, Alan D. Howard, and Orkan M. Umurhan,Nature Geoscience8 October 2018doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0235-0
  38. ^Jagged ice spikes cover Jupiter's moon Europa, study suggestsThe Washington Post,23 October 2018
  39. ^Fecht, Sarah (9 February 2017)."Here's what NASA's Europa lander could look like".Popular Science.Retrieved15 February2017.
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  42. ^EMILI: Europan Molecular Indicators of Life InvestigationW. B. Brinckerhoff; A. Grubisic; S. A. Getty; R. M. Danell, ASCE Library, 16th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments
  43. ^"Seismometer to Investigate Ice and Ocean Structure (SIIOS)" H Bailey, R Weber, D Dellagiustina, V Bray, B Avenson. 2019
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External links[edit]

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