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Despite our Earth’s remarkable biodiversity, establishing proof of life elsewhere in the universe continues to evade us – yet NASA’s upcoming launch of its Europa Clipper Mission could soon change all that.
Setting its sights on Jupiter’s earth-sized moon Europa, Europa Clipper is set to blast off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on October 10, 2024.
It marks NASA’s $5 billion (£3.8bn) gamble to prove that conditions exist that can support life on other planets – but they come with favorable odds.
Its mission objective mirrors the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which took off last year. However, NASA is zeroing in on Europa and plans to conduct 49 flybys as low as 16 miles above the surface.
Fuelled by decades of Earth-based spectroscopic observations and several high-profile flybys made by the Voyager 1 & 2 and the Galileo spacecraft, NASA plans to probe the waters found under its icy exterior, believed to be twice the volume of Earth’s oceans combined.
With the Europa Clipper launch date window fast approaching, we’ll investigate why Europa could be a prime candidate for hosting extraterrestrial life.
Why Jupiter’s Icy Europa Moon?
Remarkably, in stark contrast to our own planet, Jupiter has 95 official moons.
While the vast majority appear inhospitable, Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, and its sister moon, Europa, have both been earmarked for further investigation. Both have sizable subsurface oceans hidden beneath their frozen crust.
Given that the Jovian orbital system is a staggering 484 million miles from the Sun, you’d be forgiven for thinking everything would be frozen solid.
On the contrary, NASA scientists believe that Europa’s relatively smooth icy surface, along with the scarcity of visible impact craters, implies the presence of a geologically active core.
For astrobiologists, geologic processes such as tidal flexing of the moon’s core from the powerful forces of Jupiter’s gravitational pull could provide the missing link to complete the three principal ingredients necessary for life.
Water, Chemistry, and Energy – The Ingredients for Life
The search for life on other planets has always revolved around the three critical elements needed to survive: liquid water, chemical building blocks, and energy.
Based on the data provided by the Voyager and Galileo spaceflights, which indicates the presence of a huge salty ocean beneath Jupiter’s icy moon’s surface, Europa already has water in abundance.
As for the chemical requirements for life, Europa is believed to contain the key elements needed, including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus. These elements are all likely to have been deposited during the moon’s creation and subsequent comet and asteroid impacts.
NASA is also banking on processes such as tidal flexing, which can release and circulate the water and nutrients expected between Europa’s rocky core and its ocean and ice shells. As a proposed mechanism for keeping the ocean liquid, tidal flexing helps create a suitable chemically rich environment to support life.
The final ingredient ultimately depends on whether Europa benefits from a sustained energy source.
Unlike Earth, which depends on the Sun for most of its energy, Europa is likely to be powered by the chemical reactions initiated by the powerful bombardment of radiation from Jupiter itself. Additionally, through hydrothermal vents, tidal flexing could provide additional energy by discharging chemical nutrients into Europa’s under-ice oceans.
NASA’s Europa Clipper Launch
The Technology Onboard Europa Clipper
Set to be the biggest and heaviest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper weighs more than 3.2 tonnes, has a height of 5 meters, and, with its solar panels deployed, is more than 30 meters wide.
Loaded with nine instruments, including a range of cameras, spectrometers, and ice-penetrating radar, Europa Clipper is well equipped to gather detailed data on Europa’s surface, geomorphic processes, and chemical makeup below.
Sequenced to conduct multiple flybys, Europa Clipper will take thousands of high-resolution images and composition maps using the spacecraft’s payload of high-tech spectrometers and magnetometers.
Thermal instruments will also be pivotal in detecting heat variations beneath Europa’s icy layers in the hunt for distinctive markers like underwater thermal vents similar to those found in Earth’s oceans.
By determining the presence of active thermal vents on Europa, in tandem with its radiation level monitoring, NASA could gain comprehensive insights into the moon’s energy and nutrient sources, allowing organisms to thrive in what would otherwise be considered an inhospitable environment.
The Bottom Line
There is no escaping the fact that the NASA Europa Clipper mission is a long shot ahead of its nearly six-year voyage to the outer solar system.
Even if Europa Clipper arrives safely in April 2030, there will still be questions about where NASA’s thickly walled spacecraft is well enough equipped to protect the delicate instrumentation from the predicted onslaught of Jupiter’s intense radiation.
Despite these challenges, Europa represents one of humankind’s best chances to determine if life beyond Earth is possible and will continue to captivate our imaginations.
While the discovery of potential life-supporting environments on Europa may soon be revealed, if the right conditions exist, it will no doubt ignite a new series of space missions to uncover what extraterrestrial lifeforms look like – but spoiler alert – they’re unlikely to mirror modern space game portrayals.
