Ask Astro Why will Europa Clipper orbit Jupiter instead of Europa?

Gary Duemling 

Prescott, Arizona 

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled for launch in 2024, carrying 10 devices that may assess the habitability of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The craft will comply with up on discoveries by the Galileo mission of the Nineteen Nineties, which orbited Jupiter and made a number of flybys of each the planet and its main satellites. As you level out, Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter. Nonetheless, it would solely deal with Europa, performing some 50 shut passes of the ocean-sporting moon throughout its major mission.

So why will it orbit Jupiter and never Europa itself? One phrase: radiation. Jupiter’s highly effective magnetic subject traps and accelerates charged high-energy particles, producing a doughnut-shaped radiation belt that rotates with the planet. Europa orbits Jupiter inside this high-radiation zone, and so is constantly uncovered to this harsh surroundings. The radiation belt is damaging to spacecraft and instrument electronics, resulting in speedy degradation if unaccounted for.

A 2011 NASA examine assessed each a Europa-orbiting spacecraft and a Jupiter-orbiting “A number of-Flyby Mission” choice. Round Europa, an orbiting spacecraft can be restricted to a lifetime of a mere one month resulting from this steady radiation publicity. In distinction, the extremely elliptical orbit of the multiple-flyby Europa Clipper mission means it would spend most of its time exterior of the high-radiation zone, solely being briefly uncovered to it throughout its fast passes by the moon. As an added bonus, its lengthy elliptical orbit additionally permits the craft to transmit collected flyby knowledge again to Earth, in addition to carry out further features between Europa encounters (sometimes two to 3 weeks aside).

Europa Clipper’s multiple-flyby structure will yield considerably extra knowledge than a Europa-orbiting mission, and cleverly designed trajectories will allow near-global high-resolution mapping. As of now, the Europa Clipper spacecraft is taking form in “shipyard” amenities throughout the nation and abroad. We hope you proceed to comply with the Europa Clipper mission as we proceed towards unprecedented science!

Cynthia Phillips 

Venture Workers Scientist, Europa Clipper Mission, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California