– Searching for a saltwater ocean and traces of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa –
On Saturday, June 9th, 2024, kosmos-os provided information about a new spectacular NASA space mission to Jupiter's moon Europa in October 2024 as part of a lecture at the Innovations Center Osnabrück (ICO). In front of ten interested listeners, Dr. Achim Tegeler reported on the current status of the development of the Europa Clipper Mission.
It is indeed a massive effort that NASA is undertaking to study the giant planet Jupiter's icy moon Europa. In his one-hour lecture, Achim Tegeler described very clearly and with many animated detailed images the flight and measurement hurdles the space probe, which weighs over six tons, will have to overcome. On the one hand, it is Jupiter's huge distance from both us on Earth and from the sun, with the latter making supplying energy via solar cells a real challenge. On the other hand, Jupiter itself, with its very strong magnetic field, also poses dangers, especially for the probe's sensitive electronics.
Achim Tegeler paid particular attention to the core purpose of the mission, namely to detect liquid water and certain substances it contains under Europe's many kilometers thick ice sheet. In addition to the availability of an energy source, both are important prerequisites for the potential emergence of life.
The lively discussion that followed showed that the lecture had reached the audience. It remains to be seen whether, when and how the public media will take up this important mission towards the detection of possible life.
If you didn't attend the lecture and would like to find out more, you can find detailed information at the following links: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01070-5
Source: NASA, artist's impression
