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Video: Packing And Shipping The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Probe

by Keith CowingJune 17, 2024June 17, 2024

How was NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft packed and shipped from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to Kennedy Space Center in Florida?

Suggested citation: Leonard, E., Patthoff, D. A., and Senske, D., 2024, Global geologic map of Europa: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3513, scale 1:15,000,000, pamphlet 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3513.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

USGS Online Interactive Map Of Europa

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2024June 11, 2024

Europa, the second inner Jovian Galilean satellite, is believed to contain a global liquid water ocean covered by an ice shell likely 10s of kilometers thick. The paucity of impact […]

Left: Jupiter’s moon Europa and its presumed interior. A thick ice shell covers a planetary saltwater ocean, presumed to hold twice as much water as Earth’s oceans. Right: Simulation of the ocean bending the magnetic field lines emitted by Jupiter that are close to Europa Image credit: C. Cochrane/ NASA/JPL-Caltech

Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Tricorder Tech: Using Solid State Quantum Magnetometers To Seek Out Water Worlds

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2024June 9, 2024

“Follow the water!” The solar system is full of water in different states, from the Sun’s water vapor to the ice of Pluto and beyond. Water is not only linked […]

Cloud system in Jupiter's northern hemisphere imaged by Juno spacecraft. Photo: NASA

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Using Oceanography To Understand Fronts And Cyclones On Jupiter

by Keith CowingJune 6, 2024June 6, 2024

New research led by Lia Siegelman, a physical oceanographer at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, shows that the roiling storms at the planet Jupiter’s polar regions are powered […]

Technicians remove Europa Clipper from its protective shipping container inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center -- NASA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Unboxing The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Spacecraft

by Keith CowingMay 31, 2024May 31, 2024

Technicians remove NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, from its protective shipping container inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, […]

Optical head of the MAJIS instrument - Dimensions: 912 x 765 x 356 millimetres, weight: 41 kilograms. The aperture of the optics is protected by a red cover. The white structures are external radiators. Image: 1/2, Credit: IAS, LDO, IAPS, CNES und ASI

Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Calibration of MAJIS (Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer): III. Spectral Calibration

by Keith CowingMay 31, 2024May 31, 2024

The Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) is the visible and near-infrared imaging spectrometer onboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.

NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23. Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Europa Clipper Astrobiology Probe Arrives At Kennedy Space Center

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2024May 27, 2024

NASA’s Europa Clipper, a spacecraft designed to investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and its potential to support life, arrived in Florida on Thursday, May 23. The spacecraft, assembled at NASA’s […]

The position of each instrument on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, illustrated in the spacecraft’s stowed position. The optical remote sensing instruments (Europa-UVS, EIS NAC, EIS WAC, MISE, and E-THEMIS) have their apertures along the spacecraft’s +Y direction, which will be oriented nadir (toward Europa) during flybys; all except MISE are co-located on the “nadir deck.” MASPEX and SUDA are oriented along the spacecraft’s +Z axis, which will be oriented in the ram direction (the direction of spacecraft motion) during flybys. The REASON antennas are mounted on the edges of the solar array panels and will be oriented parallel to Europa’s surface during flybys. The positions of PIMS Upper and PIMS Lower permit combined view of plasma around the spacecraft with only minor obstructions, and the three ECM sensors and 8.5-m magnetometer boom are stowed within a cannister for deployment after launch. Accommodation considerations have ensured that all instruments can operate simultaneously and synergistically. Illustration by Steve Barajas (JPL/Caltech)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Science Overview of the Europa Clipper Astrobiology Mission

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2024May 27, 2024

The goal of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is to assess the habitability of Jupiter’s moon Europa. After entering Jupiter orbit in 2030, the flight system will collect science data while […]