The mission’s primary objective is to investigate whether Europa could support life. Europa, about the size of Earth’s moon, is believed to have a vast hidden ocean beneath its icy crust, potentially containing more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. This hidden ocean has made Europa a focal point for astrobiologists eager to explore the possibility of life beyond Earth.
The Europa Clipper will spend three years orbiting Jupiter, conducting detailed investigations of the moon’s surface and ice shell. A critical focus will be to understand the dynamics of the ice and determine whether plumes of water erupt from the surface, similar to the geysers observed on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. These observations could provide vital clues about the workings of icy ocean worlds, which may be common throughout the universe.
Europa was discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, and our first close-up images were captured in 1979 by NASA’s Voyager probes. The Voyager spacecraft revealed that Europa’s surface is characterized by many cracks and few craters, suggesting that the surface is young and possibly geologically active.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft is NASA’s largest planetary explorer, equipped with nine advanced instruments designed to study Europa during its flybys. It will get as close as 25 kilometers from the surface, creating a detailed map of Europa while searching for potential passageways connecting the surface to its ocean. The mission also aims to analyze Europa’s surface for reddish-orange organic material, which may originate from the ocean or be debris from nearby moons. Additionally, the spacecraft will investigate geysers that might offer opportunities to sample material from beneath the ice.
The Europa Clipper mission will complement the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission, which is set to explore Jupiter’s other moons, Ganymede and Callisto. Together, these missions aim to unravel the complex mysteries surrounding Jupiter’s icy moons.While the Europa Clipper will not drill into Europa’s surface, it will gather crucial data that could inform future missions. Some researchers express skepticism about the possibility of hydrothermal activity in Europa’s ocean, while others believe that life could still exist in less active environments. The Clipper will contribute to these discussions by measuring the moon’s magnetic and gravity fields, providing insights into its interior structure.Although not specifically a life-detection mission, the Europa Clipper is the first mission to assess whether icy ocean worlds like Europa can sustain life. “If Europa Clipper shows that icy ocean worlds are habitable,” said project scientist Niebur, “it could mean that life-sustaining environments are common in the universe.” With the potential for exciting discoveries, the Europa Clipper mission marks a significant step in our quest to understand life beyond our planet.