That’s the question being asked to scientists as they consider what will be best for the upcoming missions to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. In true NASA style, there will be an upcoming competition that will invite contestants to come up with the best design for instruments to take on these missions.
Although an official Europa lander mission’s not yet been approved the agency does have funding available in their 2017 budget to progress in this manner. “The possibility of placing a lander on the surface of this intriguing icy moon, touching and exploring the world that might harbor life is at the heart of the Europa lander mission,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “We want the community to be prepared for this announcement of opportunity because NASA recognizes the immense amount of work involved in preparing proposals for this potential future exploration.”
The competition is likely to accept around 10 proposals to proceed into a competitive Phase A. This phase will be restricted to a period of around 12 months and a prize fund of around $1.5 million per investigation. Investigations will be limited to those addressing the following objectives:
– Searching for proof of life on Europa
– Assessing the habitability of Europa
– Characterizing the surface and subsurface properties
A study was conducted in early 2016 that assessed the possibility of a future on Europa from an engineering and science perspective and NASA regularly carries out Science Definition Team (SDT) reports before any mission to ensure they know the challenges they’re up against. The Europa lander mission is separate to that of the Europa Clipper mission but it will still follow a similar agenda, although the Europa Clipper mission will focus more on multiple flyby missions and launch in the early 2020’s.
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