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Europa, one of Jupiter s four largest moons, was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Early observations revealed its bright, icy surface, sparking curiosity about the details of its composition. NASA s Pioneer and Voyager missions provided the first close-up images hinting at a subsurface ocean beneath the ice. Additional evidence was supplied by the Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s. More recent observations have strengthened the idea that Europa s putative subsurface ocean may harbor the conditions conducive for biological activity. These discoveries have made Europa a prime target for astrobiological exploration, and NASA s Europa Clipper mission was designated to investigate Europa s habitability. This open-access Topical Collection serves as the primary reference for the mission s science objectives, the instruments used to achieve them, the spacecraft carrying and operating the payload, and the overall mission design.
This book is a part of a set of two volumes on the Europa Clipper mission, featuring the research articles on the mission s science and instruments.
Reprinted from Space Science Reviews, Topical Collection: Europa Clipper: A Mission to Explore Ocean World Habitability.
List of contents
Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS).- The Europa Imaging System (EIS) Investigation.- The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE).- The Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS) Investigation for the Europa Clipper Mission.- Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-Surface (REASON).- MASPEX-Europa: The Europa Clipper Neutral Gas Mass Spectrometer Investigation.- SUDA: A SUrface Dust Analyser for Compositional Mapping of the Galilean Moon Europa.- The Europa Clipper Magnetometer.- The Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) on the Europa Clipper Mission.
About the author
Dr. Haje Korth is a Principal Professional Staff scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with a background in planetary and heliophysics research and instrument development. He is currently serving as the APL Deputy Project Scientist for the Europa Clipper mission. His primary research interests are magnetic fields throughout the Solar System and on this mission in particular, the interaction between Europa and Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
Dr. Bonnie J. Buratti is a Senior Research Scientist and Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She is currently serving as the JPL Deputy Project Scientist for the Europa Clipper mission. Her main research areas are volatile transport in the outer Solar System and utilizing photometric theory to understand the physical properties and evolution of planetary and satellite surfaces.
Dr. David A. Senske is a former Deputy Project Scientist on the Europa Clipper mission. He has over 25 years of experience in geologic mapping and the interpretation of remote sensing image data of Venus, Ganymede, and Europa.
Summary
Europa, one of Jupiter’s four largest moons, was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Early observations revealed its bright, icy surface, sparking curiosity about the details of its composition. NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions provided the first close-up images hinting at a subsurface ocean beneath the ice. Additional evidence was supplied by the Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s. More recent observations have strengthened the idea that Europa’s putative subsurface ocean may harbor the conditions conducive for biological activity. These discoveries have made Europa a prime target for astrobiological exploration, and NASA’s Europa Clipper mission was designated to investigate Europa’s habitability. This open-access Topical Collection serves as the primary reference for the mission’s science objectives, the instruments used to achieve them, the spacecraft carrying and operating the payload, and the overall mission design.
This book is a part of a set of two volumes on the Europa Clipper mission, featuring the research articles on the mission’s science and instruments.
Reprinted from Space Science Reviews, Topical Collection: Europa Clipper: A Mission to Explore Ocean World Habitability.
