In the video above, take a look at the upcoming Europa Clipper mission from NASA to explore an alien ocean in detail for the first time. (Video credit: NASA/JPL)
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Andre Gide
The Europa Clipper, NASA’s upcoming flagship mission to explore the Jovian water world, is due for launch sometime in the mid-2020s. This spacecraft will examine Europa during multiple flybys of the enigmatic moon.
Investigators are closely examining the capabilities of the instruments aboard the spacecraft to see how this study could aid that mission’s exploration of the frozen surface of Europa.
Onboard the spacecraft, the Europa Clipper Wide Angle Camera could collect a significant amount of data about salt concentrations on the icy moon.
This camera, utilizing a 4k x 2k CMOS detector, has a field of view of 48 by 24 degrees. From an altitude of 50 kilometers above Europa, details as small as 11 meters across will be seen as a single pixel.
It might even be possible to take images of the “night side” of Europa, glowing in the dark.
This study focused on Europa, but the findings may also be applicable to other large bodies in high-radiation environments, including Io and Ganymede in the Jovian system.
Europa is one of the most likely places in our solar system to find life. If any lifeforms are found on Europa — no matter how primitive — the discovery would signal that life is likely to form on worlds throughout the Cosmos.
