NASA’s scientists have set three specific goals for an upcoming exploration mission to land on Europa, which is covered by the ice of Jupiter’s moon.
The primary objective of this exploration mission is to search for non-ice materials at a minimum of two deep points within Europa’s moon’s surface depressions, in order to understand the composition of salts, organic materials, and other substances on this celestial body. The second goal is to create a topographical map of Europa’s surface, employing seismology and electromagnetic techniques to confirm the presence of ice and an ocean—methods involving the measurement of magnetic fields.
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Image depicting a model of an ocean believed to exist beneath the surface of Europa’s moon.
Ultimately, scientists hope that a Europa lander mission will allow them to determine the moon’s surface geology.
“Sending a lander to Europa is a future objective of planetary science,” stated Dr. Robert Pappalardo of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Addressing important scientific questions through future Europa lander missions will help focus efforts on developing the necessary technologies for human transport there.”
In March of this year, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (USA) discovered the clearest evidence yet of subsurface liquid water within a vast ocean beneath the frozen surface of Europa’s moon. This evidence further supports the theory that life could exist on Europa.
Scientists theorize that the chemical exchange between the ocean and the surface of Europa creates a chemically enriched environment beneath the ocean. This is considered one of the critical factors for the survival of life.
Scientists also believe that the structure of Europa’s ocean may closely resemble Earth’s seas.
Europa was first explored by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and the Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s. Alongside Europa, scientists speculate that Enceladus, a moon orbiting Saturn, could also potentially support life.