Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
In October 2024, NASA will launch the Europa Clipper, one of the most advanced spacecraft ever assembled. Its target is Europa, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, with an expected arrival in 2030.
Credit : NASA
The mission aims to explore Europa’s geology and composition, focusing on its potential habitability. Researchers hope to determine whether the moon has conditions favourable for life.
Europa is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. This discovery, made by the Galileo Mission in the 1990s, expanded scientists’ understanding of habitability beyond the "Goldilocks zone."
Using magnetic fields, the Europa Clipper will analyse the moon’s magnetic response to estimate the salinity of its ocean. This method will help scientists characterize the ocean’s properties and potential for supporting life.
The mission will study the moon’s surface, which is exposed to high levels of radiation from Jupiter. Researchers are interested in whether radiation-induced oxygen could mix with the ocean below, contributing to its habitability.
The Europa Clipper is equipped with imaging tools, including ice-penetrating radar to assess the ice shell’s thickness. These instruments will help scientists understand the dynamics between Europa’s surface and its interior ocean.
Credit : NASA
While the mission won’t land on Europa, it will search for biosignatures—chemical signs of life—by analyzing materials ejected from the moon’s surface and atmosphere during close flybys.
One key instrument, the Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX), will analyze gases and molecules in Europa’s atmosphere. Detecting organic molecules or amino acids could provide significant clues about the potential for life beneath Europa’s icy surface.
Credit : NASA