What was the proposed NASA Europa Lander mission?

The Europa Lander was a proposed NASA astrobiology mission concept designed to send a lander to Jupiter's icy moon, Europa. Its primary goals were to search for biosignatures in the subsurface, characterize near-surface materials, and assess the proximity of liquid water. It was intended to complement studies conducted by the Europa Clipper orbiter.

What we know

• The Europa Lander was a proposed astrobiology mission concept by NASA to land on Jupiter's icy moon Europa. [1, 2]
• The mission objectives included searching for biosignatures at approximately 10 centimeters beneath the subsurface. [2]
• Objectives also involved characterizing the composition of non-ice near-subsurface material and checking for proximity to liquid water. [2]
• If funded and developed as a large strategic science mission, the lander would have launched in 2027. [2] · medium confidence

Still open

• Sources note the mission was a proposed concept that would have launched in 2027 if funded and developed, but leave its ultimate funding outcome unstated.

Where to go next

• compared withHow does Europa Clipper study Jupiter's moon?
• the bigger pictureWhat was the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter?
• how it workedHow do scientists search for biosignatures on icy moons?
• whenWhat is the timeline of NASA missions to Jupiter?
• an unexpected connectionHow common are fictional depictions of crewed missions to Europa?

Sources

• [1]Europa Lander (Wikidata Q29419489) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Europa Lander · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Europa Clipper · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Europa Report · CC BY-SA 4.0