How REASON Will Penetrate Europa’s Surface

This artist’s concept illustrates how NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will use radar to peer beneath Europa’s ice crust to reveal the structure underneath.

Europa Clipper will carry an instrument called the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) that can penetrate beneath the Jovian moon’s surface layer, revealing potential pockets of water, cracks, or other features not visible from the outside.

Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology.

The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Additional details information: Europa Clipper: Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-Surface (REASON)

Summary of REASON ice shell domains and measurement techniques

Astrobiology