Science overview of the Europa Clipper mission

The goal of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is to assess the habitability of Jupiter’s moon Europa. After entering Jupiter orbit in 2030, the flight system will collect science data while flying past Europa 49 times at typical closest approach distances of 25–100 km. The mission’s objectives are to investigate Europa’s interior (ice shell and ocean), composition, and geology; the mission will also search for and characterize any current activity including possible plumes. The science objectives will be accomplished with a payload consisting of remote sensing and in-situ instruments. Remote sensing investigations cover the ultraviolet, visible, near infrared, and thermal infrared wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as an ice-penetrating radar. In-situ investigations measure the magnetic field, dust grains, neutral gas, and plasma surrounding Europa. Gravity science will be achieved using the telecommunication system, and a radiation monitoring engineering subsystem will provide complementary science data. The flight system is designed to enable all science instruments to operate and gather data simultaneously. Mission planning and operations are guided by scientific requirements and observation strategies, while appropriate updates to the plan will be made tactically as the instruments and Europa are characterized and discoveries emerge. Following collection and validation, all science data will be archived in NASA’s Planetary Data System. Communication, data sharing, and publication policies promote visibility, collaboration, and mutual interdependence across the full Europa Clipper science team, to best achieve the interdisciplinary science necessary to understand Europa

Jovian Tour Design for Orbiter and Lander Missions to Europa

This paper presents trajectory options for the lander and for the orbiter missions, while the trajectory design for the flyby option was presented in a previous work

Analysis of Petal Rotation Trajectory Characteristics

In this study, the characteristics of petal rotation trajectories are explored in both the two-body and circular restricted three-body problem (CRTBP) models. Petal rotation trajectories alternate long and short resonances of different kinds to rotate the line of apsides. They are typically computed using the patched conic model, and they are used in a number of different missions and mission concepts including Cassini, JUICE, and Europa mission concepts. Petal rotation trajectories are first analyzed here using the patched conic model to quantify their characteristics and search for cases with fast rotation of the line of apsides. When they are computed in the CRTBP, they are unstable periodic orbits with corresponding stable and unstable manifolds. The characteristics of these orbits are explored from a dynamical systems perspective in the second phase of the study

Jovian Tour Design for Orbiter and Lander Missions to Europa

Europa is one of the most interesting targets for solar system exploration, as its ocean of liquid water could harbor life. Following the recommendation of the Planetary Decadal Survey, NASA commissioned a study for a flyby mission, an orbiter mission, and a lander mission. This paper presents the moon tours for the lander and orbiter concepts. The total delta v and radiation dose would be reduced by exploiting multi-body dynamics and avoiding phasing loops in the Ganymede-to- Europa transfer. Tour 11-O3, 12-L1 and 12-L4 are presented in details and their performaces compared to other tours from previous Europa mission studies

The Europa Mission: Multiple Europa Flyby Trajectory Design Trades and Challenges

With potential sources of water, energy and other chemicals essential for life, Europa is a top candidate for finding current life in our Solar System outside of Earth. This paper describes the current trajectory design concept for a multiple Europa flyby mission and discusses several trajectory design challenges. The candidate reference trajectory utilizes multiple Europa flybys while around Jupiter to enable near global coverage of Europa while balancing science requirements, radiation dose, propellant usage, and flight time. Trajectory design trades and robustness are also discussed

Science goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Hand, K., Phillips, C., Murray, A., Garvin, J., Maize, E., Gibbs, R., Reeves, G., San Martin, A., Tan-Wang, G., Krajewski, J., Hurst, K., Crum, R., Kennedy, B., McElrath, T., Gallon, J., Sabahi, D., Thurman, S., Goldstein, B., Estabrook, P., Lee, S. W., Dooley, J. A., Brinckerhoff, W. B., Edgett, K. S., German, C. R., Hoehler, T. M., Hörst, S. M., Lunine, J. I., Paranicas, C., Nealson, K., Smith, D. E., Templeton, A. S., Russell, M. J., Schmidt, B., Christner, B., Ehlmann, B., Hayes, A., Rhoden, A., Willis, P., Yingst, R. A., Craft, K., Cameron, M. E., Nordheim, T., Pitesky, J., Scully, J., Hofgartner, J., Sell, S. W., Barltrop, K. J., Izraelevitz, J., Brandon, E. J., Seong, J., Jones, J.-P., Pasalic, J., Billings, K. J., Ruiz, J. P., Bugga, R. V., Graham, D., Arenas, L. A., Takeyama, D., Drummond, M., Aghazarian, H., Andersen, A. 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T., Wang, D., Willson, R. G., Wolff, J. L., Wong, A. T., Zimmer, A. K., Sukhatme, K. G., Bago, K. A., Chen, Y., Deardorff, A. M., Kuch, R. S., Lim, C., Syvertson, M. L., Arakaki, G. A., Avila, A., DeBruin, K. J., Frick, A., Harris, J. R., Heverly, M. C., Kawata, J. M., Kim, S.-K., Kipp, D. M., Murphy, J., Smith, M. W., Spaulding, M. D., Thakker, R., Warner, N. Z., Yahnker, C. R., Young, M. E., Magner, T., Adams, D., Bedini, P., Mehr, L., Sheldon, C., Vernon, S., Bailey, V., Briere, M., Butler, M., Davis, A., Ensor, S., Gannon, M., Haapala-Chalk, A., Hartka, T., Holdridge, M., Hong, A., Hunt, J., Iskow, J., Kahler, F., Murray, K., Napolillo, D., Norkus, M., Pfisterer, R., Porter, J., Roth, D., Schwartz, P., Wolfarth, L., Cardiff, E. H., Davis, A., Grob, E. W., Adam, J. R., Betts, E., Norwood, J., Heller, M. M., Voskuilen, T., Sakievich, P., Gray, L., Hansen, D. J., Irick, K. W., Hewson, J. C., Lamb, J., Stacy, S. C., Brotherton, C. M., Tappan, A. S., Benally, D., Thigpen, H., Ortiz, E., Sandoval, D., Ison, A. M., Warren, M., Stromberg, P. G., Thelen, P. M., Blasy, B., Nandy, P., Haddad, A. W., Trujillo, L. B., Wiseley, T. H., Bell, S. A., Teske, N. P., Post, C., Torres-Castro, L., Grosso, C. Wasiolek, M. Science goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(1), (2022): 22, https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ac4493.Europa is a premier target for advancing both planetary science and astrobiology, as well as for opening a new window into the burgeoning field of comparative oceanography. The potentially habitable subsurface ocean of Europa may harbor life, and the globally young and comparatively thin ice shell of Europa may contain biosignatures that are readily accessible to a surface lander. Europa's icy shell also offers the opportunity to study tectonics and geologic cycles across a range of mechanisms and compositions. Here we detail the goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept, as developed from 2015 through 2020. The science was developed by the 2016 Europa Lander Science Definition Team (SDT), and the mission architecture was developed by the preproject engineering team, in close collaboration with the SDT. In 2017 and 2018, the mission concept passed its mission concept review and delta-mission concept review, respectively. Since that time, the preproject has been advancing the technologies, and developing the hardware and software, needed to retire risks associated with technology, science, cost, and schedule.K.P.H., C.B.P., E.M., and all authors affiliated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory carried out this research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (grant No. 80NM0018D0004). J.I.L. was the David Baltimore Distinguished Visiting Scientist during the preparation of the SDT report. JPL/Caltech2021