Embedded Files
Europa Clipper Set to Research a Moon that Could Glow in the Dark
Europa Clipper Set to Research a Moon that Could Glow in the Dark
by Fawaz Kurd
The Solar System as we know consists of over 200 moons. Every planet, excluding Venus and Mercury, has moons. Scientists believe that even dwarf planets, comets, and asteroids have moons. One of the many moons that scientists are currently researching is Europa.
Europa is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter. The other three are Io, Ganymede, and Callisto; but what makes Europa different and unique is that it could glow in the dark. Scientists believe that if the moon can glow, it does so because of Jupiter’s radiation. It could raise the energy levels of salt molecules on the moon as it makes its way through the planetary system. So, as molecules release energy, they can produce visible light.
Europa’s size is a bit smaller than our own moon. Its radius is 1560.8km, compared to our moon, which is about 1731.1 km. Unlike our moon, Europa also has an ocean under its icy surface. Scientists believe that the ocean contains salt, like Earth’s oceans, and could sustain life. They also believe that Europa contains more liquid water than all of Earth's oceans combined!
Europa (as seen regularly) on the left, and Europa glowing in the dark on the right.
Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, which is an institution managed by NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration) are currently working on a probe, planned to be sent to Europa sometime during the mid-2020s, called “The Europa Clipper”. The probe will consist of nine instruments, listed below:
MAss SPectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX), for determining the chemical compounds in the atmosphere
Ultraviolet Spectrograph/Europa (UVS), to detect erupting plumes and for research of the composition and dynamics of Europa’s thin exosphere
Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE), for mapping and pictures
Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), for measuring the plasma in Europa’s ionosphere and in Jupiter’s magnetosphere
SUrface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA), for research for the surface
Europa Imaging System (EIS), also for pictures
Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON), researching the layers including the surface, the ocean, and the core
Europa THermal EMission Imaging System (E-THEMIS), to measure heat
Europa Clipper Magnetometer, to measure the magnetic field
Diagram of the Europa Clipper
The mission is said to be a “flyby mission”, which means that the probe will orbit Jupiter, similar to how the International Space Station (ISS) orbits our planet, and it will last around ten years; six years to travel to the planet, and four years to orbit it. While orbiting said planet, the path that the artificial satellite will take (not completely decided) will end up stumbling upon Europa, and it will research it. NASA claims that it will do this at least 45 times during its mission.
The altitude of the Europa Clipper (when it reaches the moon) is said to vary from 2 700 km to 25 km (1 700 miles to 16 miles). Its power source will be the same as many other artificial satellites that JPL has produced in the past; using solar panels/arrays, but the propulsion system is unknown at this time.
After the mission has been completed, NASA has yet to confirm what’s going to happen afterwards. JPL might decide to do the same thing that they had done with a mission that had started long ago and finished not too long ago; Cassini. Cassini is a spacecraft that was sent to research Saturn. Launched on October 15, 1997, and travelled for seven years, the mission had given scientists more information about the ringed planet, and it had ended by purposely crashing into the planet on September 15, 2017. Since it was a planet made of gas, like Jupiter, the spacecraft disintegrated in the atmosphere. A similar thing could be done with the Europa Clipper.
Europa Clipper (in the middle) seen orbiting Jupiter’s moon, Europa (bottom)
Page updated
Report abuse