13 March 2017
Europa Clipper: the official name of NASA's mission to Europa
... to give biology the kick start it needs for even the simplest organisms to form. The name Europa Clipper is a reference to the clipper ships – three-masted streamlined sailing vessels renowned for their grace and swiftness – that sailed...
August 2017
Big science from small spacecraft
...take on unique science missions but are not a substitute for the larger ‘flagship’ missions like Curiosity or Europa Clipper. Destinations So where can we reasonably expect to explore in our Solar System with smaller spacecraft? The Sun is an obvious...
25 July 2018
Radiation on Europa dictates where search for life begins
... organics and possible biosignatures that might be detected with future missions, be they spacecraft that fly by or land on Europa.” With this information, Europa Clipper's mission team are now looking at routes that pass over many regions...
14 May 2018
Best evidence yet for plumes on Europa
... irrefutable, they will help facilitate the two future planned missions to the ice world in 2022 – NASA’s Europa Clipper and the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission – whose aim is to determine whether the icy moon possesses...
March 2018
Plumes on Europa - tasting an extra-terrestrial ocean
... has still to be reported. It is likely that we will have to wait for such a confirmation until either JUICE or NASA’s Europa Clipper mission arrive at the ice moon in the early 2030s. Artist’s concept of JUICE at Jupiter. Particle detector Unlike...
14 April 2017
Cassini finds evidence for hydrothermal vent activity on Enceladus
... being vented from beneath the moon's icy crust and warming the surrounding surface. Hopefully, NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which is planned for launch in the 2020s will be able to verify if this is the situation or not. "If there...
