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

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 26 May 2015 12:58:34 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201505261958.t4QJwYfd025224_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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
Received on Tue 26 May 2015 03:58:34 PM PDT