Future Exploration of Europa

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There are many challenges that future exploration missions to Europa need to overcome.
Europa's high radiation environment, 5.4 Sv per day (more than 500,000 times more than on earth!), poses a great challenge to future missions. Also the low sunlight and long distance from Earth are challenging.
Nevertheless, because of its unique environment, Europa is a prime candidate for future exploration missions for NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency).
NASA is planing a multiple flyby mission to Europa named the Europa Clipper. This mission is scheduled to launch in the early 2020s, and will reach Europa after a 6.5 year journey. This mission will try to answer many of the questions regarding Europa's habitability and environment.
It will measure the magnetic fields more precisely to understand better the ocean. The mission will also look closer at Europa's chemical composition, using infrared spectrometers. An ice penetrating radar will search for water close to the surface, while high definition camera's will give a better look at Europa's strange topology. The Clipper will also take precise measurements of Europa's tidal flexing, which will allow to estimate the depth of the ice shell and ocean better.

The European Space Agency is also planing a mission that will focus on Jupiter's icy moons - JUICE, Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. This mission will conduct multiple flybys Jupiter's 3 icy moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Though this mission will focus more on Ganymede and Callisto, it will still provide valuable information about Europa. It's science payload will be similar to the clipper's, though not identical.
NASA's concept Clipper mission
Illustration of the Europa Clipper - NASA
Europa's terrian
Europa's surface feature's - NASA

Only future mission's will allow us to understand Europa's environment better, and to evaluate its habitability.

The Physics of how life works is complex and amazing. The Physics of space exploration and planetary analysis is just as intriguing. Europa provides a unique enviroment where the two combine creating a huge potential for future exploration and research.



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