In October, NASA's Europa Clipper mission will launch on a journey to investigate one of the next frontiers in our search for life beyond Earth. Its destination: Jupiter's moon Europa. Beneath its icy crust, the small moon is thought to contain a saltwater ocean with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. By studying the moon up close with a suite of scientific instruments, Europa Clipper aims to improve our understanding of the conditions on Europa and explore whether the moon could be suitable for life.

Read on to learn why scientists are so interested in this tiny ocean world and get to know the science behind the Europa Clipper mission. Then, follow along with the mission in the classroom using STEM teaching and learning resources.

Why Explore Europa?

In recent years, scientists have discovered likely water worlds throughout our solar system that might harbor conditions suitable for life. But scientists are especially intrigued by Jupiter's moon Europa because it hosts several components that make it one of the most promising for harboring a habitable environment.

Slightly smaller in size than Earth's Moon, Europa is one of Jupiter’s 95 officially recognized moons. Europa was discovered along with Jupiter's three other largest moons more than 400 years ago by astronomer Galileo Galilei, and named by astronomer Simon Marius, who discovered Europa around the same time.

This artist's concept shows a simulated view from the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image

Scientific observations of Europa by previous spacecraft, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter, point to the existence of a subsurface salty ocean. These observations included spectroscopic measurements indicating the surface is mostly water ice; gravitational and moment-of-inertia measurements indicating a layered internal structure, including a water and ice layer near the surface that is 62 miles (100 kilometers) thick; and magnetic field measurements indicating a conductive layer near the surface. A salty ocean would explain these observations.

Though Europa has been studied by the Galileo spacecraft and the more recent Juno spacecraft with a few up-close flybys, Europa Clipper will allow us to build on previous findings to gain new perspectives on the moon with a Europa-dedicated mission.

The surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa is visible in this view made from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image

Europa’s surface is crisscrossed by long, linear fractures, cracks, ridges, and bands. This ice shell is probably 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 kilometers) thick. Evidence suggests that below Europa’s icy surface there is a saltwater ocean that is about 25 times deeper than Earth's oceans and contains about twice as much water. Scientists are hopeful that the Europa Clipper mission will refine these estimates.

In addition to water, Europa could have other conditions needed for life as we know it, including chemistry, energy, and stability. NASA scientists believe that six essential chemical building blocks for life exist on Europa and have likely existed there since Europa formed. These common elements are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Chemical energy, similar to that produced by hydrothermal vents found on Earth’s ocean floor, may also exist on Europa’s sea floor. As Europa orbits Jupiter, it gets stretched and released by the tug of gravity from the giant planet. This process, called tidal flexing, creates heat, much in the same way a paperclip that is repeatedly bent back and forth can get hot to the touch. This tidal flexing process could keep the ocean liquid and may also be creating heat that could be released through hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. On Earth, hydrothermal vents spew forth heated water, minerals, and various chemicals that react with the salty ocean, releasing stored chemical energy.

Where did life originate on Earth? Could the process hold clues for finding life elsewhere? Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Watch on YouTube

Radiation surrounding Jupiter is another possible source of fuel for life in an ocean below Europa's surface. Jupiter’s strong radiation bombards Europa, which is bad news for anything attempting to live on the surface. But the radiation splits apart water molecules at the surface. Once the water molecules are split, the hydrogen floats away into space and the oxygen stays behind, making it available to bind to other elements. If the oxygen makes its way to the ocean through cracks or openings, it could react with other chemicals to provide chemical energy for microbial life.

Compare the oceans of Earth and Europa. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Click for full image and description

In addition to these potentially life-supporting conditions, observations indicate that the environment on Europa has likely remained constant for four billion years. Environmental stability is important to allow time for life to form and evolve. Such a promising stable environment is ripe for further exploration.

Europa Clipper Science

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will be the largest in NASA’s planetary mission history, measuring 16 feet (five meters) in height. Its giant solar arrays, the largest space-faring solar arrays to date, unfold in space to span the length of a basketball court, more than 100 feet (30.5 meters), and cover 950 square feet (90 square meters). Such an enormous light-collecting area is required because the intensity of the Sun near Jupiter is only 3% of what it is on Earth, and the massive arrays need to capture enough sunlight to power Clipper’s science instruments.

Europa Clipper has a powerful suite of nine science instruments designed to work together to study Europa’s surface features, improve our understanding of the moon’s icy shell, examine the interaction between the ocean and the icy shell, and investigate the ocean’s composition to determine if it has the ingredients to sustain life.

Exploring Europa’s Icy Surface

The spacecraft will collect images and generate surface maps using its onboard cameras and spectrometers which can identify chemical signatures from reflected light. The Europa Imaging System contains wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras, which will produce high-resolution color and stereoscopic images of Europa. These cameras will study Europa's geologic activity and measure surface elevations. The Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System will use infrared light to measure surface texture and characterize warmer regions where the liquid ocean may be closer to the surface. It will also show any visible evidence of water eruptions. The Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph will use a telescope to collect ultraviolet light to help determine the makeup of Europa's sparse atmospheric gases and surface materials. It will also search for signs of plumes erupting from the surface.

A mass spectrometer and dust analyzer will measure the composition of tiny particles in Europa’s extremely thin atmosphere and surrounding environment. The mass spectrometer, or MASPEX, will analyze gases in Europa’s sparse atmosphere and in any plumes, as well as the chemical makeup of the ocean. The Surface Dust Analyzer will identify the chemistry of solid material ejected from Europa to offer clues about the surface composition and ocean salinity.

Examining Europa’s Icy Shell and Sub-surface Ocean

The spacecraft will search for water under Europa’s surface using radar and will gather magnetic field measurements with a magnetometer. An ice-penetrating radar instrument called REASON will examine the ice structure and thickness. It works by transmitting radio waves that bounce off of features within the ice, like cracks or pockets of water. By measuring the time difference between transmission and return, REASON will learn how far the features are from the spacecraft, and therefore, how deep they are in the ice. This highly specialized and advanced radar can also measure differences in the composition of materials on Europa. It does this by measuring the energy difference between transmitted and returning signals and combining them with distance measurements.

This artist's concept illustrates two possible cut-away views through Europa's ice shell. In both, heat escapes, possibly volcanically, from Europa's rocky mantle and is carried upward by buoyant oceanic currents. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Michael Carroll | + Expand image

The Europa Clipper Magnetometer works by measuring small changes in Europa’s magnetic signal and how they vary with time and location. Measuring Europa’s magnetic signal could confirm the existence of an ocean and will help determine the ocean’s depth and salinity as well as the thickness of the moon's icy shell.

These instruments work in conjunction with several other instruments to closely study Europa during the flybys and return data for scientists to analyze for years to come. Explore a full list of instruments and learn how they work on the Europa Clipper mission website.

Getting to Europa

To save fuel for its journey to Europa, the spacecraft will follow what’s known as a Mars-Earth Gravity Assist trajectory for its 5.5-year journey. This path will first take the spacecraft near Mars to get a gravity assist – a boost in momentum obtained by tugging on Mars, thereby slightly decreasing Mars’ orbital momentum while transferring that momentum to the spacecraft. Next, Europa Clipper will swing back by Earth for another gravity assist before continuing on to Jupiter for its scheduled arrival in April 2030.

This graphic shows the Mars-Earth gravity assist trajectory the Europa Clipper spacecraft will follow to reach Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image

Once it arrives, Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter in an elongated ellipse that will bring the spacecraft close to Europa about 50 times. The orbit was designed in this way to decrease the impact of Jupiter’s radiation on the spacecraft, which can damage its electronics. Studies show that a spacecraft orbiting Europa may survive for a few months, while one orbiting Jupiter would last for many years. After each close flyby of Europa, the spacecraft will travel outside Jupiter’s radiation belts to downlink data to Earth, uplink new commands, and prepare for the next flyby.

Known as a petal plot for the way it resembles petals of a flower, this diagram displays the orbital path around Jupiter the Europa Clipper spacecraft will take as it explores Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + Expand image

Follow Along

The Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled to launch in October 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Tune in to watch the launch on NASA TV.

Visit the Europa Clipper mission website for all the latest mission updates, images, and science.

Teach Europa Clipper Science and Engineering

The Europa Clipper mission is a great opportunity to engage students with hands-on learning opportunities that range from imagining alien life forms to finding Jupiter in the night sky to engaging in the same science that led scientists to suspect the existence of Europa’s salty ocean. Explore these lessons and resources to get students excited about the STEM involved in this mission to determine if life-supporting conditions exist on Europa.

For Educators

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  Europa Clipper Lessons

  Explore this collection of standards-aligned STEM lessons connecting the Europa Clipper mission to classroom instruction.

For Students

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  Europa Clipper Activities

  Dive into this collection of DIY student projects, videos, and slideshows to learn more about Jupiter's moon Europa.

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Activities for Kids

• Build Your Own Spacecraft Paper Model
• Build Your Own Spacecraft Toy Bricks Model
• Print a 3D Model of Europa Clipper
• Downloadable Europa Clipper
• Europa Clipper Mission Posters, Stickers, and More

Websites

• Europa Clipper Website
• Astrobiology @ NASA

Videos

• Europa Clipper Mission Videos

Image Gallery

• Europa Clipper Mission Images

Articles

• Latest Europa Clipper News
• Mission Updates

TAGS: K-12 Education, Educators, Teachers, Parents, Science, Astrobiology, Jupiter, Europa, Ocean, Teachable Moments

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Anne Tapp Jaksa, Professor of Teacher Education, Saginaw Valley State University

  Anne Tapp Jaksa is a professor of teacher education at Saginaw Valley State University. In 2023, she served as an educator in residence with the K-12 Education team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Outside of writing and teaching, she enjoys serving as a volunteer for educational organizations, traveling, and gazing at the stars.

NASA is launching a spacecraft in October 2023 to visit the asteroid Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid. The mission with the same name, Psyche, will study the asteroid, which is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, to learn more about our solar system, including the core of our own planet.

Read more to find out what we will learn from the Psyche mission. Get to know the science behind the mission and follow along in the classroom using STEM teaching and learning resources from NASA.

Why It's Important

This illustration depicts the 140-mile-wide (226-kilometer-wide) asteroid Psyche, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU | + Expand image

Asteroids are thought to be rocky remnants that were left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Of the more than 1.3 million known asteroids in our solar system, Psyche’s metallic composition makes it unique to study. Ground-based observations indicate that Psyche is a giant metal-rich asteroid about one-sixteenth the diameter of Earth’s Moon and shaped like a potato. Scientists believe it might be the partial nickel-iron core of a shattered planetesimal – a small world the size of a city that is the first building block of a planet. Asteroid Psyche could offer scientists a close look at the deep interiors of planets like Earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars, which are hidden beneath layers of mantle and crust.

We can’t see or measure Earth’s core directly – it is more than 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) below the surface and we have only been able to drill about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) deep with current technology. The pressure at Earth’s core measures about three million times the pressure of the atmosphere at the surface, and the temperature of Earth’s core is about 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,000 degrees Celsius), so even if we could get science instruments there, the hostile conditions would make operations practically impossible. The Psyche asteroid may provide information that will allow us to better understand Earth’s core, including its composition and how it was created. The asteroid is the only known place in our solar system where scientists might be able to examine the metal from the core of a planetesimal.

The Psyche mission's science goals are to understand a previously unexplored building block of planet formation (iron cores); to explore a new type of world; and to look inside terrestrial planets, including Earth, by directly examining the interior of one of these planetary building blocks, which otherwise could not be seen. The science objectives that will help scientists meet these goals include determining if asteroid Psyche is actually leftover core material, measuring its composition, and understanding the relative age of Psyche's surface regions. The mission will also study whether small metal-rich bodies include the same light elements that are hypothesized to exist in Earth's core, determine if Psyche was formed under similar or different conditions than Earth's core, and characterize Psyche's surface features.

How It Will Work

The Psyche mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Psyche’s solar arrays are designed to work in low-light conditions because the spacecraft will be operating hundreds of millions of miles from the Sun. The twin plus-sign shaped arrays will deploy and latch into place about an hour after launch from Earth in a process that will take seven minutes for each wing. With the arrays fully deployed, the spacecraft will be about the size of a singles tennis court. The spacecraft’s distance from the Sun will determine the amount of power it can generate. At Earth, the arrays will be able to generate 21 kilowatts, which is enough electricity to power three average U.S. homes. While at asteroid Psyche, the arrays will produce about two kilowatts, which is a little more than what is needed to power a hair dryer.

An illustration of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and its vast solar arrays. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU | + Expand image

At left, xenon plasma emits a blue glow from an electric Hall thruster identical to those that will propel NASA's Psyche spacecraft to the main asteroid belt. On the right is a similar non-operating thruster. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | + View image and details

The spacecraft will rely on the launch vehicle’s large chemical rocket engines to blast off the launchpad and escape Earth’s gravity, but once in space, the Psyche spacecraft will travel using solar-electric propulsion. Solar-electric propulsion uses electricity from the solar arrays to power the spacecraft’s journey to asteroid Psyche. For fuel, Psyche will carry tanks full of xenon, the same neutral gas used in car headlights and plasma TVs. The spacecraft’s four thrusters – only one of which will be on at any time – will use electromagnetic fields to accelerate and expel charged atoms, or ions, of that xenon. As those ions are expelled, they will create thrust that gently propels Psyche through space, emitting blue beams of ionized xenon. The thrust will be so gentle that it will exert about the same amount of pressure you’d feel holding three quarters in your hand, but it’s enough to accelerate Psyche through deep space. You can read more about ion propulsion in this Teachable Moment.

The spacecraft, which will travel 2.2 billion miles (3.6 billion kilometers) over nearly 6 years to reach its destination, will also use the gravity of Mars to increase its speed and to set its trajectory, or path, to intersect with asteroid Psyche’s orbit around the Sun. It will do this by entering and leaving the gravitational field of Mars, stealing just a little bit of kinetic energy from Mars’ orbital motion and adding it to its own. This slingshot move will save propellant, time, and expense by providing a trajectory change and speed boost without using any of the spacecraft’s onboard fuel.

Upon arrival at Psyche, the spacecraft will spend 26 months making observations and collecting data as it orbits the asteroid at different altitudes. Unlike many objects in the solar system that rotate like a spinning top, the asteroid Psyche rotates on its side, like a wheel. Mission planning teams had to take this unique characteristic into account in planning the spacecraft's orbits. The different orbits will provide scientists with ideal lighting for the spacecraft's cameras and they will enable the mission to observe the asteroid using different scientific instruments onboard.

The spacecraft will map and study Psyche using a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, a magnetometer, and a radio instrument (for gravity measurement). During its cruise to the asteroid, the spacecraft will also test a new laser communication technology called Deep Space Optical Communication, which encodes data in photons at near-infrared wavelengths instead of radio waves. Using light instead of radio allows the spacecraft to send more data back and forth at a faster rate.

Follow Along

Psyche is scheduled to launch no sooner than October 5, 2023 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Tune in to watch the launch on NASA TV.

Visit the mission website to follow along as data are returned and explore the latest news, images, and updates about this mysterious world.

Teach It

The Psyche mission is a great opportunity to engage students with hands-on learning opportunities. Explore these lessons and resources to get students excited about the STEM involved in the mission

Resources for Teachers

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  Psyche Lessons for Educators

  Explore a collection of standards-aligned lessons related to NASA's Psyche mission.

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  Collection

  Asteroids Lessons for Educators

  Explore a collection of standards-aligned lessons all about asteroids and craters.

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  Article

  Teachable Moments: How NASA Studies and Tracks Asteroids Near and Far

  Studying the chemical and physical properties, as well as the location and motion of asteroids, is vital to helping us understand how the sun, planets and other solar system bodies came to be. This article explores how NASA studies and tracks asteroids.

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  Expert Talk

  Teaching Space With NASA: Tracking Asteroids

  In this educational talk, NASA experts will discuss how we track and study comets and asteroids. Plus, we'll answer your questions!

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  Article

  Teachable Moments: The Science Behind NASA's First Attempt at Redirecting an Asteroid

  Find out more about the historic first test, which could be used to defend our planet if a hazardous asteroid were discovered.

Activities for Students

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  Psyche Activities for Students

  Explore projects, videos, slideshows, and games for students all about asteroids.

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  Asteroids Activities for Students

  Explore projects, videos, slideshows, and games for students all about asteroids.

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Resources for Kids

Check out these related resources for kids from NASA Space Place:

• Article for Kids: Asteroid or Meteor: What's the Difference?
• Article for Kids: What Is an Asteroid?
• Article for Kids: Why Does the Moon Have Craters?
• Article for Kids: What Is an Impact Crater?

Websites

• Psyche Mission
• Asteroid Watch
• Center for Near-Earth Object Studies
• NASA Space Apps Challenge

Articles

• Psyche News Archive
• Articles: Asteroid News from JPL

Images

• Psyche Image Gallery

Videos

• Psyche Mission Video

Interactives

• Eyes on Asteroids

Printouts

• Print a 3D Model of the Psyche Spacecraft
• Create a Psyche Lego Model
• Create a Model of the Psyche Asteroid

TAGS: Teachers, Classroom, Lessons, Educators, K-12, Parents, Students, Resources, Asteroid TM, Psyche

• 

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Anne Tapp Jaksa, Professor of Teacher Education, Saginaw Valley State University

  Anne Tapp Jaksa is a professor of teacher education at Saginaw Valley State University. In 2023, she served as an educator in residence with the K-12 Education team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Outside of writing and teaching, she enjoys serving as a volunteer for educational organizations, traveling, and gazing at the stars.