T48 Friends of Hoth: Satellites of the Outer Solar System

Sunday, 25 September 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 201

SCIENCE OF THE NASA EUROPA MISSION

Paper number: T48-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM

Authors

Abstract

The Europa Multiple Flyby Mission, in formulation for launch in the 2020s, would investigate the habitability of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The mission would send a solar-powered, radiation-tolerant spacecraft into an elliptical orbit about Jupiter to conduct more than 40 close flybys of Europa, most in the range 25 km–100 km. The payload comprises a suite of nine science instruments that together would support three key objectives: detailed investigation of Europa's interior, both its internal ocean (including its salinity and depth) and its ice shell (including thickness and potential water pockets within); composition of the icy surface, notably dark reddish areas that may evince linkages between the ocean and the surface; and geology at the regional and local scales, especially areas that may show signs of recent or current activity. NASA is exploring the option of a subsequent landed mission to Europa. The science objectives and project status will be summarized.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-283208

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