A Need to Update the Exploration Strategy for Europa

Details A Need to Update the Exploration Strategy for Europa A Need to Update the Exploration Strategy for Europa

Jan 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001iaop.work...35g&link_type=abstract

Forum on Innovative Approaches to Outer Planetary Exploration 2001-2020, p. 35

Mathematics

Logic

Europa, Oceans, Satellite Surfaces, Space Missions, Mission Planning, Space Exploration, Space Probes

Scientific paper

The current exploration strategy for Europa, for which the Europa orbiter is the next step, was predicated on a prevailing belief that Europa's ocean, if any, lies isolated from the surface beneath approximately 10 km or more of ice. First, the orbiter would determine whether there indeed is a liquid water ocean. Then a lander would assess surface conditions, laying the groundwork for a subsequent mission to send a probe down through the ice to the ocean below. The ocean is the ultimate destination because of its appealing possibility as a site of life. In this scenario, the multiple missions and the central technological challenge of devising a way to penetrate the ice imply a timetable stretching over several decades. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

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