Why is NASA exploring Jupiter's moon Europa?

NASA's Europa Clipper mission is an interplanetary spacecraft launched to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa and investigate its subsurface ocean. Because Europa experiences extreme radiation within Jupiter's magnetosphere, the spacecraft orbits Jupiter and conducts dozens of close flybys rather than orbiting the moon directly. At the end of its mission, the probe will be intentionally crashed into Ganymede to prevent forward contamination.

What we know

• Europa Clipper was launched by a Falcon Heavy on October 14, 2024, and was approved by NASA in June 2015. [2, 5]
• The spacecraft will investigate the subsurface ocean below Europa's ice crust, which was originally found by the Galileo spacecraft. [2]
• Due to extreme radiation in Europa's vicinity, Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter and perform 49 close flybys of the moon. [2]
• The probe carries a Surface Dust Analyzer mass spectrometer capable of identifying a single bacterium to sample water vapor plume ejecta. [2]

Still open

• Whether the mission's end will occur in 2034 or later remains dependent on operational timelines.

Where to go next

• what caused itHow does Jupiter's radiation affect spacecraft?
• how we knowWhat did the Galileo spacecraft discover at Jupiter?
• compared withWhat is the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission?
• how it workedHow do gravity assist maneuvers work in interplanetary travel?
• the bigger pictureWhat are the broader objectives of exploring the outer Solar System?
• an unexpected connectionHow do 19th-century trade ships relate to modern planetary probes?The Europa Clipper mission is named after fast 19th-century clipper ships because the spacecraft will pass by Europa at a rapid cadence, as frequently as every two weeks.

Sources

• [1]Europa Clipper (Wikidata Q15637513) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Europa Clipper · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Europa Lander · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Exploration of Jupiter · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Europa Jupiter System Mission – Laplace · CC BY-SA 4.0