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Vance SD, Craft KL, Shock E, Schmidt BE, Lunine J, Hand KP, McKinnon WB, Spiers EM, Chivers C, Lawrence JD, Wolfenbarger N, Leonard EJ, Robinson KJ, Styczinski MJ, Persaud DM, Steinbrügge G, Zolotov MY, Quick LC, Scully JEC, Becker TM, Howell SM, Clark RN, Dombard AJ, Glein CR, Mousis O, Sephton MA, Castillo-Rogez J, Nimmo F, McEwen AS, Gudipati MS, Jun I, Jia X, Postberg F, Soderlund KM, Elder CM. Investigating Europa's Habitability with the Europa Clipper. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2023; 219:81. [PMID: 38046182 PMCID: PMC10687213 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-023-01025-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The habitability of Europa is a property within a system, which is driven by a multitude of physical and chemical processes and is defined by many interdependent parameters, so that its full characterization requires collaborative investigation. To explore Europa as an integrated system to yield a complete picture of its habitability, the Europa Clipper mission has three primary science objectives: (1) characterize the ice shell and ocean including their heterogeneity, properties, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange; (2) characterize Europa's composition including any non-ice materials on the surface and in the atmosphere, and any carbon-containing compounds; and (3) characterize Europa's geology including surface features and localities of high science interest. The mission will also address several cross-cutting science topics including the search for any current or recent activity in the form of thermal anomalies and plumes, performing geodetic and radiation measurements, and assessing high-resolution, co-located observations at select sites to provide reconnaissance for a potential future landed mission. Synthesizing the mission's science measurements, as well as incorporating remote observations by Earth-based observatories, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other space-based resources, to constrain Europa's habitability, is a complex task and is guided by the mission's Habitability Assessment Board (HAB).
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven D. Vance
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Kathleen L. Craft
- Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD USA
| | - Everett Shock
- School of Earth & Space Exploration and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA
| | - Britney E. Schmidt
- Department of Astronomy and Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Jonathan Lunine
- Department of Astronomy and Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Kevin P. Hand
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - William B. McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO USA
| | - Elizabeth M. Spiers
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Chase Chivers
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
- Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA USA
| | - Justin D. Lawrence
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
- Honeybee Robotics, Altadena, CA USA
| | - Natalie Wolfenbarger
- Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX USA
| | - Erin J. Leonard
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | | | | | - Divya M. Persaud
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Gregor Steinbrügge
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Mikhail Y. Zolotov
- School of Earth & Space Exploration and School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA
| | | | | | | | - Samuel M. Howell
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | | | - Andrew J. Dombard
- Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, USA
| | | | - Olivier Mousis
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), Marseille, France
| | - Mark A. Sephton
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Francis Nimmo
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Alfred S. McEwen
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
| | - Murthy S. Gudipati
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Insoo Jun
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
| | - Xianzhe Jia
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
| | - Frank Postberg
- Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Krista M. Soderlund
- Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX USA
| | - Catherine M. Elder
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA
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Roberts JH, McKinnon WB, Elder CM, Tobie G, Biersteker JB, Young D, Park RS, Steinbrügge G, Nimmo F, Howell SM, Castillo-Rogez JC, Cable ML, Abrahams JN, Bland MT, Chivers C, Cochrane CJ, Dombard AJ, Ernst C, Genova A, Gerekos C, Glein C, Harris CD, Hay HCFC, Hayne PO, Hedman M, Hussmann H, Jia X, Khurana K, Kiefer WS, Kirk R, Kivelson M, Lawrence J, Leonard EJ, Lunine JI, Mazarico E, McCord TB, McEwen A, Paty C, Quick LC, Raymond CA, Retherford KD, Roth L, Rymer A, Saur J, Scanlan K, Schroeder DM, Senske DA, Shao W, Soderlund K, Spiers E, Styczinski MJ, Tortora P, Vance SD, Villarreal MN, Weiss BP, Westlake JH, Withers P, Wolfenbarger N, Buratti B, Korth H, Pappalardo RT. Exploring the Interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2023; 219:46. [PMID: 37636325 PMCID: PMC10457249 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-023-00990-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including solid ice convection, diapirism, subsumption, and interstitial lake formation. The science objectives of the Europa Clipper mission include the characterization of Europa's interior; confirmation of the presence of a subsurface ocean; identification of constraints on the depth to this ocean, and on its salinity and thickness; and determination of processes of material exchange between the surface, ice shell, and ocean. Three broad categories of investigation are planned to interrogate different aspects of the subsurface structure and properties of the ice shell and ocean: magnetic induction, subsurface radar sounding, and tidal deformation. These investigations are supplemented by several auxiliary measurements. Alone, each of these investigations will reveal unique information. Together, the synergy between these investigations will expose the secrets of the Europan interior in unprecedented detail, an essential step in evaluating the habitability of this ocean world.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Catherine M Elder
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Ryan S Park
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Gregor Steinbrügge
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Francis Nimmo
- University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Samuel M Howell
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Morgan L Cable
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Corey J Cochrane
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Carolyn Ernst
- Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Hamish C F C Hay
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Paul O Hayne
- University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - Hauke Hussmann
- German Aerospace Center Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Walter S Kiefer
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, University Space Research Association, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | | | | | - Erin J Leonard
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Carol A Raymond
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Kurt D Retherford
- Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Lorenz Roth
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Abigail Rymer
- Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | | | | | | | - David A Senske
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Wencheng Shao
- University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Marshall J Styczinski
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Paolo Tortora
- Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Steven D Vance
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Bonnie Buratti
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Haje Korth
- Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Robert T Pappalardo
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
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