Europa Clipper Mission: Preliminary Design Report Todd Bayer, Molly Bittner, Brent Buffington, Karen Kirby, Nori Laslo Gregory Dubos, Eric Ferguson, Ian Harris, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Maddalena Jackson, Gene Lee, Kari Lewis, Jason Laboratory 11100 Johns Hopkins Road Laurel, Kastner, Ron Morillo, Ramiro Perez, Mana MD 20723-6099 Salami, Joel Signorelli, Oleg Sindiy, Brett Smith,
[email protected] Melissa Soriano Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Dr. Pasadena, CA 91109 818-354-4605
[email protected] Abstract—Europa, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter, is 1. INTRODUCTION believed to be one of the best places in the solar system to look for extant life beyond Earth. Exploring Europa to investigate its Europa’s subsurface ocean is a particularly intriguing target habitability is the goal of the Europa Clipper mission. for scientific exploration and the hunt for life beyond Earth. The 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey, Vision and Voyages, The Europa Clipper mission envisions sending a flight system, states: “Because of this ocean’s potential suitability for life, consisting of a spacecraft equipped with a payload of NASA- Europa is one of the most important targets in all of planetary selected scientific instruments, to execute numerous flybys of Europa while in Jupiter orbit. A key challenge is that the flight science” [1]. Investigation of Europa’s habitability is system must survive and operate in the intense Jovian radiation intimately tied to understanding the three “ingredients” for environment, which is especially harsh at Europa. life: liquid water, chemistry, and energy. The Europa Clipper mission would investigate these ingredients by The spacecraft is planned for launch no earlier than June 2023, comprehensively exploring Europa’s ice shell and liquid from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA, on a NASA supplied ocean interface, surface geology and surface composition to launch vehicle.