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New Video Series Spotlights Engineers on NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission

With NASA’s Europa Clipper just weeks away from launch, five short videos give a behind-the-scenes peek at some of the engineers dedicated to making the mission a success.

What does it take to build a massive spacecraft that will seek to determine if a mysterious moon has the right ingredients for life? Find out in a new video series called “Behind the Spacecraft,” which offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the roles of five engineers working on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, from building the spacecraft’s communications systems to putting it through rigorous tests so the orbiter can meet its science goals in space.

With its launch period opening Thursday, Oct. 10, Europa Clipper is the agency’s first mission dedicated to exploring an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) to the Jupiter system, where it will investigate the gas giant’s moon Europa, which scientists believe contains a global saltwater ocean beneath its icy shell.

The videos are being released here weekly. The first two are already out.

Meet the team:

• Dipak Srinivasan, lead communications systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, makes sure the Europa Clipper team can communicate with the spacecraft. Learn more about his work in the video above.

• Sarah Elizabeth McCandless, navigation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helped plan Europa Clipper’s trajectory, ensuring the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter safely and has a path to fly by Europa dozens of times. Learn more about Sarah’s work here.

• Jenny Kampmeier, a science systems engineer at JPL, acts as an interface between mission scientists and engineers.

• Andres Rivera, a systems engineer at JPL and first-generation American, works on Europa Clipper’s cruise phase — the journey from Earth to Jupiter.

• Valeria Salazar, an integration and test engineer at JPL who spent her childhood in Mexico, helped test the Europa Clipper spacecraft to ensure its launch readiness.

Upcoming Livestreams and Broadcasts

Europa Clipper experts will answer questions about the mission in a NASA Science Live show airing in English on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and in Spanish on Thursday, Oct. 3. The broadcasts will appear on NASA+, YouTube, Facebook, and X. The Spanish broadcast will be streamed on the NASA en Español YouTube channel. Viewers can submit questions on social media using the hashtag #askNASA or by leaving a comment in the chat section of the Facebook or YouTube stream.

Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission and will fly through the most punishing radiation environment of any planet in the solar system. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and, during multiple flybys of Europa, will collect a wealth of scientific data with nine science instruments and an experiment that uses its telecommunications system to gather gravity data.

More About Europa Clipper

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

To learn more about Europa Clipper, visit:

https://europa.nasa.gov/

News Media Contacts

Val Gratias / Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-318-2141 / 818-393-6215
valerie.m.gratias@jpl.nasa.gov / gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser   
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov  

2024-127

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US, Republic of Korea Sign Statement to Advance Aerospace Cooperation

NASA and the Republic of Korea’s newly created Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) signed a joint statement of intent Thursday affirming their interest to advance cooperation in space exploration, science, and aeronautics.

The signing took place at NASA Headquarters in Washington during the KASA’s first visit since its creation in May 2024.

“Building on years of work together both on Earth and in space, we are proud to significantly grow our partnership with the Republic of Korea and its new space agency,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We look forward to the discoveries and innovation that our two nations will accomplish in this exciting time for space exploration.”

The countries will discuss potential cooperation in a range of areas including NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture, space life sciences and medical operations, lunar surface science, utilization of Korea’s deep space antenna, future commercial low Earth orbit activities, and other fields of science such as heliophysics. 

The statement also acknowledges a shared commitment to the Artemis Accords, to which the Republic of Korea was an early signatory. NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State and seven other founding member nations, established the Artemis Accords in 2020, reinforcing the commitment by signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior, including the public release of scientific data.

“The signing of the joint statement marks a pivotal moment in opening a new chapter for the Republic of Korea-U.S. aerospace alliance. It presents a vital opportunity for Korea to emerge as a responsible space-faring nation, and also for humanity to pursue scientific discoveries and pioneer the future,” said KASA Administrator Youngbin Yoon. “The Korea AeroSpace Administration will continue to collaborate globally for sustainable space activities and strengthen Korea’s role on the international space stage.”

In attendance at the ceremony were top officials from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). The organizations worked with NASA to share data from the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter and leverage the agency’s Deep Space Network.

The U.S. and the Republic of Korea have built and placed satellites in orbit that can track air pollution in North America and Asia and making that data and knowledge available to the world. NASA’s recently launched TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission, and KARI’s GEMS (Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer), are improving life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality from space, solving Earth’s greatest challenges.

For more information about NASA’s programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/

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Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw
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meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

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NASA Selects Launch Provider for New NOAA Environmental Satellite

NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace, Inc. of Cedar Park, Texas, to provide launch services for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) QuickSounder mission.

The selection is part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This contract allows the agency to make fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity awards during VADR’s five-year ordering period, with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts.

The QuickSounder mission will support NOAA’s next generation satellite architecture for its future low Earth orbit program, which will provide mission-critical data for the agency’s National Weather Service, the nation’s weather industry, and other users worldwide.

QuickSounder is the first small satellite in NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON). A collaborative effort between NASA and NOAA, NEON will provide a new approach to developing a new global environmental satellite system by quickly building small to medium-sized satellites with Earth-observing instruments for weather forecasting, disaster management, and climate monitoring. QuickSounder has a launch readiness date of February 2026.

NASA will manage the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA. As the mission lead, NOAA provides funding, technical requirements, and will manage post-launch operations. NASA and NOAA will work with commercial partners to design and build the network’s spacecraft and instruments.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

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Liz Vlock / Karen Fox
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202-358-1100
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov / karen.fox@nasa.gov

Patti Bielling
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321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

Station Science Top News: September 20, 2024

Researchers found that eddies, or swirling wind patterns, increased moisture evaporation in an alfalfa field. A better understanding of the complex exchange of water and heat between the ground and atmosphere could improve remote sensing products and their use in agricultural water management.  

The station’s ECOSTRESS instrument takes high-resolution thermal infrared measurements of Earth’s surface that provide data on changes in water availability, vegetation water stress, and agricultural water use. Researchers use observations from the USGS Landsat 8 and 9 satellites and ECOSTRESS to validate climate models and update data on Earth’s surface energy (the amount of energy absorbed from the Sun and radiated back into the atmosphere).

Researchers identified various properties for flow boiling using n-perfleurohexane, a fluid used to cool electronics. A better understanding of this process can improve models for designing thermal cooling systems used in the electronics, energy, aerospace, and other industries. 

Flow boiling, a method of thermal management, uses the heat generated by a device to boil a liquid, generating vapor bubbles that lift the heat from the surface. The Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) tested a flow boiling method in microgravity, where the process is less efficient; in the absence of buoyancy, bubbles grow larger and remain near the surface.

Researchers successfully manufactured a polymer of rare metals and other elements that showed high radiation resistance and has a suitable size and weight for use in space. This result provides knowledge that can support development of improved shielding for future spacecraft and extraterrestrial habitats. 

The Roscosmos investigation Shielding Composite tested the absorbed radiation dose of two polymers during 225 days on the space station using monthly monitoring by the Pille-ISS investigation. The data showed that the material has high and stable radiation shielding characteristics. Protecting crew members and equipment from radiation is an important requirement for future long-duration space missions.

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Women in Astronomy Citizen Science Webinar This Thursday

Women hold up half the sky… but participation numbers for NASA-sponsored citizen science projects don’t always reflect that. Why? And what can we do to welcome people of all genders to participate?

During this week’s NASA Citizen Science Leaders Series webinar on Thursday, September 26, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT, we will hear from three speakers who will help frame, constrain, and inspire solutions to the question of how NASA-sponsored astronomy citizen science projects might be more appealing to and supportive of female-identifying participants.

• Dr. Julia Parrish will share observations from a meta-analysis of the demographics of participants in citizen science projects.
• Dr. Corey Jackson will share results from an analysis of participation on the Zooniverse platform.
• Vivian White will share observations from amateur astronomy groups and an inspiring example of a group focused on engaging girls in astronomy and their encouraging results.

Women in Astronomy Citizen Science: A NASA Cit Sci Leaders Series Event

Thursday, September 26, 2024

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT

Register now for this event!

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