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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Europa

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … ]Preparing for Europa

*That was the tagline for the article at spaceref.com, though not an actual part of the story.  But will put it here anyway.

The little craft is called "Spray."  It was launched 12 miles SE of Bermuda, is heading NW, will return to Bermuda.  Is 6 feet in length, 4 foot wingspan, weighing 112 pounds, traveling 12 mph day, has no visible moving parts and has a range of 3500 miles!  Wow.  Is its 2nd trip across the Gulf Stream.

The Little AUV That Could. 

measuring various properties of the ocean as it glides up to the surface and then glides back down to 1,000-meters depth (3,300 feet) three times a day. Every seven hours Spray spends about 15 minutes on the surface to relay its position and information about ocean conditions, such as temperature, salinity and pressure

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Europa

Europas]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970410.html]Europa's Ice Rafts

*Just found this at Astropix.    Shows shifts -- pieces of the surface have "rafted to new locations."  More speculation of water, of course.  Is an "old" photo from April 1997, but a definite must-post.

--Cindy

P.S.:  The "raft" towards the upper right-hand corner looks like it's been broken in half.  Or perhaps it's two separate "rafts" pushed together, and the one to the right is higher than its companion on the left; a shadowing effect?  ???

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Europa

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000714.html]Crater on ice...

*Check it out.  As in April, found it while fishing in Astropix.  A strange "something" for a robotic mission to try and figure out.

--Cindy

---

We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Europa

Giving this one a bump to be able to find it for repairs

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Europa

Wow just found this topic again and its was not fixed boy did I fall asleep at the wheel or what.

NASA studying less expensive options for Europa lander mission planners are continuing to examine several factors, including mission cost and science return, as they evaluate the design of the mission.  “We want to continue balancing the trade amongst risk, cost and science return.”

Concepts for the lander presented earlier this year call for a spacecraft launched on a Space Launch System rocket no earlier than late 2025, arriving at Jupiter in mid-2030 and landing on Europa in late 2031. Most of the spacecraft’s estimated mass of 16.6 metric tons is propellant needed to first enter orbit around Jupiter and, later, landing on Europa itself

No wonder they are trying to find a cheaper build...

Plus this change as well from a nuclear power source to

science goals of the lander, as well as a notional suite of five instruments that could be used to achieve those goals and fit within a payload accommodation on the lander of 42.5 kilograms. The battery-powered spacecraft would operate for about 20 days after landing.

Oldfart1939

Member

Registered: 2016-11-26

Posts: 2,451

Re: Europa

This mission would NOT seem to be a very good return on the investment needed; at least not NOW. Maybe after NASA returns to using Nuclear Thermal propulsion systems with double the Isp of H2/LOX?

Oldfart1939

Member

Registered: 2016-11-26

Posts: 2,451

Re: Europa

The key to such missions is the science return. With only 42 kg of instruments with a possible lifetime of 20 days, there doesn't seem to be much that could be accomplished.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

JUICE, the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration … ical_heart
'Once in the Jovian system the mission will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. The mission will investigate the emergence of habitable worlds around gas giants and the Jupiter system as an archetype for the numerous giant exoplanets, now known to orbit other stars'

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Deep sea vents thousands of feet below the ocean surface are 'particularly favorable' to forming the building blocks of life
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech … -life.html
A NASA spacecraft just saw the north pole of Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter, for the first time
https://www.space.com/europa-north-pole … nasa-photo
SpaceX lands NASA launch contract for mission to Jupiter's moon Europa
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2 … oon-europa
The 7 ways we might first find life beyond Earth
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang … ond-earth/

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Europa

NASA begins building Europa-bound Clipper spacecraft

We have just 2 post is the one with the name Europa Ice Clippers

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

On Jupiter’s Moon Europa, ‘Chaos Terrains’ Could be Shuttling Oxygen to Ocean

https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2022/03 … -to-ocean/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

New Data Tied to Jupiter's Moon Europa Is Good News for Alien Believers

https://www.cnet.com/science/space/new- … believers/

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Europa

Europa’s Double Ridges: Implications for a Habitable Ocean

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2022/04 … ble-ocean/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) by the European Space Agency (ESA) with Airbus Defence and Space as the main contractor, operations will overlap with NASA's Europa Clipper mission, launching in 2024. It will carry instruments from France, NICT JAXA Japan, DLR, Germany,  Kyoto University Japan, British UKSA, ASI Italy,  Netherlands, Swedish Institute of Space Physics. JUICE will pass through the asteroid belt twice. A flyby of the asteroid 223 Rosa has been proposed, and would occur in October 2029.

'These are the biggest solar arrays ever built for a space science mission.
https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/ … 7935344643
With a total area of 85 m², the #JUICE solar panels are composed of 2356 solar cells each.
vibration & acoustic mechanical test'

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

NASA's Europa Clipper may crash into Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, at mission's en

https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom/status/ … 8424019970

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-06-29 08:56:06)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Swarm of Tiny Swimming Robots Could Look for Life on Distant Worlds

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Swar … s_999.html

NASA developing swarm robots to search for life in Europa's ocean, deployed by a nuclear cryobot

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/swarm- … ant-worlds

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-06-30 11:00:53)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Drilling into Icy Moon Oceans
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2022/07 … on-oceans/

Ancient microbes may help us find extraterrestrial life forms
https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/06/2 … life-forms

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

New forms of ‘salty ice’ could explain mysterious signatures from Europa

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/ … res-europa

At Jupiter, JUICE and Clipper Will Work Together in Hunt for Life

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti … -for-life/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Clean Room Europa Clipper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ_D9o3Yems

JPL

It takes a lot of solar panels to operate at Jupiter, which is more than five times as far from the Sun as Earth. When our spacecraft's massive arrays are deployed, they will be about as long as a basketball court.

https://twitter.com/EuropaClipper/statu … 8975160320

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-19 13:48:59)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

A major step is achieved: ESA_JUICE is ready for the fueling !

https://twitter.com/esa_juice/status/16 … 7729810434

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Europa

Europa’s Ice Rotates at a Different Speed From its Interior. Now We May Know Why

https://www.universetoday.com/160740/eu … -know-why/

Jupiter’s moon, Europa, contains a large ocean of salty water beneath its icy shell, some of which makes it to the surface from time to time, and this vast ocean could host life, as well. Europa was most recently observed by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, but current examinations of the moon’s internal ocean are limited to computer models and simulations produced here on Earth, as no mission is actively exploring this tiny moon orbiting Jupiter. Other than the internal water occasionally breaching the icy shell and making it to the surface, what other effects could the internal ocean have on the icy shell that encloses it?

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-29 03:22:08)