Navigating toward new frontiers, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission has officially launched, marking a significant leap in our exploration of Jupiter’s intriguing moon, Europa. On schedule, the Europa Clipper blasted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 12:06 p.m. EDT yesterday. Over the next five years, this spacecraft is set to approach Europa, a moon characterized by its thick ice crust, beneath which exists a hidden ocean. The mission aims to delve into the moon’s surface composition and geological features, while also evaluating its potential for harboring life. Due to the intense radiation from Jupiter, the Clipper will execute a series of strategic flybys, making its closest approach at a mere 16 miles from Europa’s surface.
Jason Soderblom, a research scientist from MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), plays a pivotal role in this mission as a co-investigator for two key instruments: the Europa Imaging System and the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa. For nearly a decade, he and his team have engineered sophisticated imaging and mapping technologies aimed at revealing the geological narrative and chemical makeup of Europa’s mysterious surface. Here, he shares insights about the objectives and ambitions of this groundbreaking mission.
Q: What insights do we currently have regarding Europa’s surface?
A: Data from the NASA Galileo mission indicates that Europa’s ice shell is relatively thin, though we’re still determining the exact thickness. A primary aim of the Europa Clipper mission is to accurately measure this ice shell’s depth. The surface is marked by fractures, suggesting active geological processes at work. While predominantly composed of water ice, insights also hint at the presence of non-ice material along these fractures and ridges, potentially originating from the moon’s interior.
Investigating surface materials is challenging due to the overwhelming radiation environment posed by Jupiter. This radiation alters the surface materials, making understanding the damage it inflicts vital for deciphering composition.
This necessity drives the mission’s design: we’ll execute flybys around Europa, collecting data while avoiding prolonged exposure to radiation. This technique allows us to analyze data efficiently between observations.
Q: Were there significant challenges linked to the design of the instruments?
A: Indeed, the radiation presented a monumental challenge. Concepts for this mission evolved around the time of the Galileo mission in the late 1990s, resulting in about 25 years of development aimed at conquering these radiation hurdles. We’ve meticulously shielded the instruments and performed extensive modeling to optimize the placement of this shielding. Innovative data collection techniques have also evolved: by gathering numerous short observations, we can isolate and mitigate radiation noise, leading to cleaner data capturing.
Q: Your involvement includes the Europa Imaging System (EIS) and the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE). How do they differ?
A: The EIS focuses on understanding the dynamic geological forces at play on Europa’s surface, identifying fractured zones, chaos terrains where icebergs appear to be suspended in watery slurries, and regions involved in tectonic activities like collision or subduction. Conversely, MISE is dedicated to discerning the surface composition. We’re particularly curious about areas where we suspect liquid water has breached the surface. Understanding the origin of surface materials — whether from Europa’s interior or the external environment — is pivotal for mapping the composition of the subsurface ocean.
Interestingly, these instruments intersect. Color imaging from EIS provides preliminary compositional insights, while the spectrometer maps material distribution, correlating it with geological features. This intersection allows us to extrapolate detailed compositional data from spectrometer readings and geological context from camera observations.
Q: How do the mission goals relate to your research at MIT?
A: My background includes significant involvement in the Cassini mission, specifically with the Visual and Infrared Spectrometer team, focusing on the geology and composition of Saturn’s moon Titan. The MISE instrument shares similar scientific objectives and operational functions to that endeavor, creating a strong connection to our current efforts on the Europa Clipper mission.
Q: What excites you most about the Europa Clipper mission?
A: I’m particularly intrigued by the unique geological features evident on Europa’s surface, eager to learn about the materials involved and the processes influencing their development, specifically concerning chaos terrains and surface fractures.
Q: What’s next for the team while awaiting Europa’s arrival?
A: A crucial aspect involves ongoing laboratory work on Earth to enhance our spectral libraries. This preparation ensures we can accurately compare the spectral data gathered from Europa’s surface with existing laboratory measurements. Additionally, we’re developing models to assess how materials transition from the ocean to the surface through fractures. Establishing these models now is vital for leveraging the data effectively and optimizing our observations as the journey progresses.
Photo credit & article inspired by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
