NASA Europa mission may actually land on Jupiter moon
NASA may not totally follow its flyby mission to Europa and may actually go for a touchdown as part of its quest to search for potential life on the Jupiter moon.
The main goal of NASA's Europa mission is to determine the character of the Jupiter moon during flybys. But now, the space agency may actually send down a probe to land on Europa's surface when the mission launches in the mid-2020s, according to Space.
In a panel meeting last week at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Space 2015 conference held in Pasadena, Europa project scientist Robert Pappalardo revealed that NASA is aiming for a possible lander on the ocean-harboring satellite of Jupiter.
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"We are actively pursuing the possibility of a lander," Space quotes Europa project scientist Robert Pappalardo. "NASA has asked us to investigate: What would it take? How much would it cost? Could we put a small surface package on Europa with this mission?"
In addition, NASA has invited the European Space Agency to contribute a lander and ice-penetrating impactor to the mission, if it is interested, the report adds.
Europa is a satellite that spans 3,100 kilometers in width and is covered by an ice shell estimated to be 80 kilometers thick. However, scientists think a huge ocean lies under the icy crust, the report details.
Europa may be the most likely candidate that could host life outside of Earth, Sputnik News reports.
Kevin Hand, the deputy chief scientist at JPL's Solar System Exploration Directorate, said they think the "potentially habitable environment" has existed for quite some time. However, since they still do not know what the moon's surface looks like, they are still struggling to design a lander that could survive the impact, the report details.
Pappalardo expects NASA to come up with a final decision regarding the Europa mission by the end of this year.
