Joint Europa Mission (JEM): a multi-scale study of Europa to characterize its habitability and search for extant life

Europa is the closest and probably the most promising target to search for extant life in the Solar System, based on complementary evidence that it may fulfil the key criteria for habitability: the Galileo discovery of a sub-surface ocean; the many indications that the ice shell is active and may be partly permeable to transfer of chemical species, biomolecules and elementary forms of life; the identification of candidate thermal and chemical energy sources necessary to drive a metabolic activity near the ocean floor. In this article we are proposing that ESA collaborates with NASA to design and fly jointly an ambitious and exciting planetary mission, which we call the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), to reach two objectives: perform a full characterization of Europa's habitability with the capabilities of a Europa orbiter, and search for bio-signatures in the environment of Europa (surface, subsurface and exosphere) by the combination of an orbiter and a lander. JEM can build on the advanced understanding of this system which the missions preceding JEM will provide: Juno, JUICE and Europa Clipper, and on the Europa lander concept currently designed by NASA (Maize, report to OPAG, 2019). We propose the following overarching goals for our Joint Europa Mission (JEM): Understand Europa as a complex system responding to Jupiter system forcing, characterize the habitability of its potential biosphere, and search for life at its surface and in its sub-surface and exosphere. We address these goals by a combination of five Priority Scientific Objectives, each with focused measurement objectives providing detailed constraints on the science payloads and on the platforms used by the mission. The JEM observation strategy will combine three types of scientific measurement sequences: measurements on a high-latitude, low-altitude Europan orbit; in-situ measurements to be performed at the surface, using a soft lander; and measurements during the final descent to Europa's surface. The implementation of these three observation sequences will rest on the combination of two science platforms: a soft lander to perform all scientific measurements at the surface and sub-surface at a selected landing site, and an orbiter to perform the orbital survey and descent sequences. We describe a science payload for the lander and orbiter that will meet our science objectives. We propose an innovative distribution of roles for NASA and ESA; while NASA would provide an SLS launcher, the lander stack and most of the mission operations, ESA would provide the carrier-orbiter-relay platform and a stand-alone astrobiology module for the characterization of life at Europa's surface: the Astrobiology Wet Laboratory (AWL). Following this approach, JEM will be a major exciting joint venture to the outer Solar System of NASA and ESA, working together toward one of the most exciting scientific endeavours of the 21st century: to search for life beyond our own planet

Influence of Low Europa Orbit design on gravity field recovery

The characterization of Europa's surface and interior ocean and ice shell is key to explore the habitability of the fourth largest moon of Jupiter. Europa Clipper will largely contribute to our knowledge of Europa with multiple dedicated flybys. However, global mapping can only be significantly improved by means of an orbiter with high inclination and low altitude, as it will be done in the case of Ganymede by JUICE. This was the strategy of several mission proposals (Joint Europa Mission, Jupiter Europa Orbiter, HADES). A specific difficulty in designing suitable orbits in the Jovian system is related to the orbit stability, which is highly impacted by the influence of Jupiter as a third body exerting strong perturbations on a Europa orbiter. This results in constraints for potential science orbits which would allow, e.g., for the determination of Europa's gravity field using radio tracking to the probe. In this presentation, we will analyze a set of different low Europa orbits and compare their scientific value for gravity field recovery. We will explore different orbital characteristics, with the possibility to use repetitive ground track orbits. The analysis will be performed based on closed-loop simulations using the planetary extension of the Bernese GNSS Software. We simulate realistic Doppler tracking data (2-way X-band Doppler range rate) from the Deep Space Network. These observations are then used to reconstruct the orbit as well as geodetic parameters, such as Europa gravity field parameters and the tidal Love number k2. We will discuss the quality of the retrieved solutions

Joint Europa Mission (JEM). A Multiscale Study of Europa to Characterize its Habitability and Search for Extant Life

International audienceHere we present the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), a proposal submitted to the ESA M5 call last October 2016 and is now under study

Joint Europa Mission (JEM). A Multiscale Study of Europa to Characterize its Habitability and Search for Extant Life

International audienceHere we present the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), a proposal submitted to the ESA M5 call last October 2016 and is now under study

Joint Europa Mission (JEM). A Multiscale Study of Europa to Characterize its Habitability and Search for Extant Life

International audienceHere we present the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), a proposal submitted to the ESA M5 call last October 2016 and is now under study

Joint Europa Mission (JEM). A Multiscale Study of Europa to Characterize its Habitability and Search for Extant Life

International audienceHere we present the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), a proposal submitted to the ESA M5 call last October 2016 and is now under study

Joint Europa Mission (JEM) a multi-scale study of Europa to characterize its habitability and search for extant life

International audienceEuropa is the closest and probably the most promising target to search for extant life in the Solar System, based on complementary evidence that it may fulfil the key criteria for habitability: the Galileo discovery of a sub-surface ocean; the many indications that the ice shell is active and may be partly permeable to transfer of chemical species, biomolecules and elementary forms of life; the identification of candidate thermal and chemical energy sources necessary to drive a metabolic activity near the ocean floor.In this article we are proposing that ESA collaborates with NASA to design and fly jointly an ambitious and exciting planetary mission, which we call the Joint Europa Mission (JEM), to reach two objectives: perform a full characterization of Europa's habitability with the capabilities of a Europa orbiter, and search for bio-signatures in the environment of Europa (surface, subsurface and exosphere) by the combination of an orbiter and a lander. JEM can build on the advanced understanding of this system which the missions preceding JEM will provide: Juno, JUICE and Europa Clipper, and on the Europa lander concept currently designed by NASA (Maize, report to OPAG, 2019)