5 min read<\/p>\n
How NASA Is Protecting Europa Clipper From Space Radiation<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Engineers](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1-pia25959-clipper-vault-closure-for-flight.00-33-06-13.still001.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nEngineers and technicians are seen closing the vault of NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper in the main clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at JPL on Oct. 7. The vault will protect the electronics of the spacecraft as it orbits Jupiter. <\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTo explore the mysterious ice-encrusted moon Europa, the mission will need to endure bombardment by radiation and high-energy particles surrounding Jupiter.<\/em><\/p>\nWhen NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper begins orbiting Jupiter to investigate whether its ice-encased moon, Europa, has conditions suitable for life, the spacecraft will pass repeatedly through one of the most punishing radiation environments in our solar system.<\/p>\n
Hardening the spacecraft against potential damage from that radiation is no easy task. But on Oct. 7, the mission put the final piece of the spacecraft\u2019s \u201carmor\u201d in place when it sealed the vault, a container specially designed to shield Europa Clipper\u2019s sophisticated electronics. The probe is being put together, piece by piece, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility<\/a> at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California ahead of its launch in October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>Join team members from NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper mission behind the scenes in a clean room at JPL to learn about the design of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cClosing the vault is a major milestone,\u201d said Kendra Short, Europa Clipper\u2019s deputy flight system manager at JPL. \u201cIt means we\u2019ve got everything in there that we have to have in there. We\u2019re ready to button it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just under a half-inch (1 centimeter) thick, the aluminum vault houses the electronics for the spacecraft\u2019s suite of science instruments<\/a>. The alternative of shielding each set of electronic parts individually would add cost and weight to the spacecraft.<\/p>\n\u201cThe vault is designed to reduce the radiation environment to acceptable levels for most of the electronics,\u201d said JPL\u2019s Insoo Jun, the co-chair of the Europa Clipper Radiation Focus Group and an expert on space radiation.<\/p>\n
Punishing Radiation<\/strong><\/h2>\nJupiter\u2019s gigantic magnetic field is 20,000 times as strong as Earth\u2019s and spins rapidly in time with the planet\u2019s 10-hour rotation period. This field captures and accelerates charged particles from Jupiter\u2019s space environment to create powerful radiation belts. The radiation is a constant, physical presence \u2013 a kind of space weather \u2013 bombarding everything in its sphere of influence with damaging particles.<\/p>\n
\u201cJupiter has the most intense radiation environment other than the Sun in the solar system,\u201d Jun said. \u201cThe radiation environment is affecting every aspect of the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/e2-clipper-illo-pia24321.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nThis illustration depicts NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper as it flies by Jupiter\u2019s moon Europa. The mission is targeting an October 2024 launch.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThat\u2019s why when the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter in 2030, Europa Clipper won\u2019t simply park in orbit around Europa. Instead, like some previous spacecraft that studied the Jovian system, it will make a wide-ranging orbit of Jupiter itself to move away from the planet and its harsh radiation as much as possible. During those looping orbits of the planet, the spacecraft will fly past Europa nearly 50 times to gather scientific data.<\/p>\n
The radiation is so intense that scientists believe it modifies the surface of Europa, causing visible color changes, said Tom Nordheim, a planetary scientist at JPL who specializes in icy outer moons \u2013 Europa as well as Saturn\u2019s Enceladus.<\/p>\n
\u201cRadiation on the surface of Europa is a major geologic modification process,\u201d Nordheim said. \u201cWhen you look at Europa \u2013 you know, the reddish-brown color \u2013 scientists have shown that this is consistent with radiation processing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaotic Icescape<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nSo even as engineers work to keep radiation out of Europa Clipper, scientists like Nordheim and Jun hope to use the space probe to study it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a dedicated radiation monitoring unit, and using opportunistic radiation data from its instruments, Europa Clipper will help reveal the unique and challenging radiation environment at Jupiter,\u201d Jun said.<\/p>\n
Nordheim zeroes in on Europa\u2019s \u201cchaos terrain<\/a>,\u201d areas where blocks of surface material appear to have broken apart, rotated, and moved into new positions, in many cases preserving preexisting linear fracture patterns.<\/p>\nDeep beneath the moon\u2019s icy surface is a vast liquid-water ocean, scientists believe, that could offer a habitable environment for life. Some areas of Europa\u2019s surface show evidence of material transport from the subsurface to the surface. \u201cWe need to understand the context of how radiation modified that material,\u201d Nordheim said. \u201cIt can alter the chemical makeup of the material.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Power of Heat<\/strong><\/h2>\nBecause Europa\u2019s ocean is locked inside an envelope of ice, any possible life forms would not be able to rely directly on the Sun for energy, as plants do on Earth. Instead, they\u2019d need an alternative energy source, such as heat or chemical energy. Radiation raining down on Europa\u2019s surface could help provide such a source by creating oxidants, such as oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, as the radiation interacts with the surface ice layer.<\/p>\n
Over time, these oxidants could be transported from the surface to the interior ocean. \u201cThe surface could be a window into the subsurface,\u201d Nordheim said. A better understanding of such processes could provide a key to unlock more of the Jupiter system\u2019s secrets, he added: \u201cRadiation is one of the things that makes Europa so interesting. It\u2019s part of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n
More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\nEuropa Clipper\u2019s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Jupiter\u2019s icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission\u2019s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon\u2019s icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission\u2019s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.<\/p>\n
More information about Europa can be found here:<\/p>\n
europa.nasa.gov<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNews Media Contacts<\/h2>\n
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nKaren Fox \/ Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 \/ 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nWritten by Pat Brennan<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/figure>To explore the mysterious ice-encrusted moon Europa, the mission will need to endure bombardment by radiation and high-energy particles surrounding Jupiter.<\/em><\/p>\n When NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper begins orbiting Jupiter to investigate whether its ice-encased moon, Europa, has conditions suitable for life, the spacecraft will pass repeatedly through one of the most punishing radiation environments in our solar system.<\/p>\n Hardening the spacecraft against potential damage from that radiation is no easy task. But on Oct. 7, the mission put the final piece of the spacecraft\u2019s \u201carmor\u201d in place when it sealed the vault, a container specially designed to shield Europa Clipper\u2019s sophisticated electronics. The probe is being put together, piece by piece, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility<\/a> at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California ahead of its launch in October 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cClosing the vault is a major milestone,\u201d said Kendra Short, Europa Clipper\u2019s deputy flight system manager at JPL. \u201cIt means we\u2019ve got everything in there that we have to have in there. We\u2019re ready to button it up.\u201d<\/p>\n Just under a half-inch (1 centimeter) thick, the aluminum vault houses the electronics for the spacecraft\u2019s suite of science instruments<\/a>. The alternative of shielding each set of electronic parts individually would add cost and weight to the spacecraft.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vault is designed to reduce the radiation environment to acceptable levels for most of the electronics,\u201d said JPL\u2019s Insoo Jun, the co-chair of the Europa Clipper Radiation Focus Group and an expert on space radiation.<\/p>\n Jupiter\u2019s gigantic magnetic field is 20,000 times as strong as Earth\u2019s and spins rapidly in time with the planet\u2019s 10-hour rotation period. This field captures and accelerates charged particles from Jupiter\u2019s space environment to create powerful radiation belts. The radiation is a constant, physical presence \u2013 a kind of space weather \u2013 bombarding everything in its sphere of influence with damaging particles.<\/p>\n \u201cJupiter has the most intense radiation environment other than the Sun in the solar system,\u201d Jun said. \u201cThe radiation environment is affecting every aspect of the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why when the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter in 2030, Europa Clipper won\u2019t simply park in orbit around Europa. Instead, like some previous spacecraft that studied the Jovian system, it will make a wide-ranging orbit of Jupiter itself to move away from the planet and its harsh radiation as much as possible. During those looping orbits of the planet, the spacecraft will fly past Europa nearly 50 times to gather scientific data.<\/p>\n The radiation is so intense that scientists believe it modifies the surface of Europa, causing visible color changes, said Tom Nordheim, a planetary scientist at JPL who specializes in icy outer moons \u2013 Europa as well as Saturn\u2019s Enceladus.<\/p>\n \u201cRadiation on the surface of Europa is a major geologic modification process,\u201d Nordheim said. \u201cWhen you look at Europa \u2013 you know, the reddish-brown color \u2013 scientists have shown that this is consistent with radiation processing.\u201d<\/p>\n So even as engineers work to keep radiation out of Europa Clipper, scientists like Nordheim and Jun hope to use the space probe to study it.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a dedicated radiation monitoring unit, and using opportunistic radiation data from its instruments, Europa Clipper will help reveal the unique and challenging radiation environment at Jupiter,\u201d Jun said.<\/p>\n Nordheim zeroes in on Europa\u2019s \u201cchaos terrain<\/a>,\u201d areas where blocks of surface material appear to have broken apart, rotated, and moved into new positions, in many cases preserving preexisting linear fracture patterns.<\/p>\n Deep beneath the moon\u2019s icy surface is a vast liquid-water ocean, scientists believe, that could offer a habitable environment for life. Some areas of Europa\u2019s surface show evidence of material transport from the subsurface to the surface. \u201cWe need to understand the context of how radiation modified that material,\u201d Nordheim said. \u201cIt can alter the chemical makeup of the material.\u201d<\/p>\n Because Europa\u2019s ocean is locked inside an envelope of ice, any possible life forms would not be able to rely directly on the Sun for energy, as plants do on Earth. Instead, they\u2019d need an alternative energy source, such as heat or chemical energy. Radiation raining down on Europa\u2019s surface could help provide such a source by creating oxidants, such as oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, as the radiation interacts with the surface ice layer.<\/p>\n Over time, these oxidants could be transported from the surface to the interior ocean. \u201cThe surface could be a window into the subsurface,\u201d Nordheim said. A better understanding of such processes could provide a key to unlock more of the Jupiter system\u2019s secrets, he added: \u201cRadiation is one of the things that makes Europa so interesting. It\u2019s part of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n Europa Clipper\u2019s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Jupiter\u2019s icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission\u2019s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon\u2019s icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission\u2019s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.<\/p>\n More information about Europa can be found here:<\/p>\n europa.nasa.gov<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Gretchen McCartney Karen Fox \/ Alana Johnson Written by Pat Brennan<\/p>\nPunishing Radiation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/figure>Chaotic Icescape<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Power of Heat<\/strong><\/h2>\n
More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n
News Media Contacts<\/h2>\n
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 \/ 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n