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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Europa Orbiter Exploration Strategies

The Europa Orbiter mission is planned as the next stage of Europa exploration. Its primary goals are to search for definitive evidence of a subsurface ocean, to characterize the ice crust and ice/water interface, and to prepare for future surface/sub-surface missions. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Johnson, T. V.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Continued evolution of Europa subsurface exploration technologies

The Galileo results convincingly indicate that Europa has a deep salty ocean covered by a shell of water ice a few tens of kilometers thick; this physical description gives rise to a host of thoughtful speculation as to the nature of the ocean, its seafloor, and the likelihood of microbial life within it. We argue that this situation points to the high desirability of a series of in-situ missions to examine the ice and, ultimately, the ocean.

subglacial Europa↗
NASA NTRS2005

Europa Geophysical Explorer Mission Concept Studies

This slide presentation discusses the studies done to outline the concept of a explorer mission to the Jovian Moon, Europa, that would allow a further understanding of the Geophysics of that moon. Included in the presentation are an outline of the possible trajectory, including flyby assists, a listing of the science objectives and the scientific instruments that would be used in the completion of the objectives.

lander↗
NASA NTRS2017

Europa Clipper Proposed Mission - an Update

Europa, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter, is believed to be one of the best places in the solar system to look for extant life beyond Earth. The 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey, Vision and Voyages, states: “Because of this ocean’s potential suitability for life, Europa is one of the most important targets in all of planetary science.” Exploring Europa to investigate its habitability is the goal of the planned Europa Mission. This exploration is intimately tied to understanding the three “ingredients” for life: liquid water, chemistry, and energy. The Europa Mission would investigate these ingredients by comprehensively exploring Europa’s ice shell and liquid ocean interface, surface geology and surface composition to glean insight into the inner workings of this fascinating moon. In addition, a lander mission is seen as a possible future step, but current data about the Jovian radiation environment and about potential landing site hazards and potential safe landing zones is insufficient. Therefore an additional goal of the mission would be to characterize the radiation environment near Europa and investigate scientifically compelling sites for hazards, to inform a potential future landed mission.

Kirby, Karen↗
NASA NTRS2002

Exobiological Exploration of Europa (E3) Europa Lander

The search for life outside Earth's protected atmosphere is a compelling testament to the quest by mankind to determine if "we" are alone in the universe. The phenomenal success of the NASA Galileo spacecraft has indicated that the moons of Jupiter, and most notably Europa, may indeed contain subsurface liquid under an icy surface. This speculation of a salty liquid subsurface fuels expert opinions that biological products may exist. The Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts (RASC) effort at Langley Research Center, initiated by NASA Headquarters, pushes NASA and the Aerospace/Science community to target advanced evolutionary technology usage to provide a Europa Lander concept targeted for completion within the next 50 years. The study effort indicates the use of certain advanced technologies to achieve a subsurface penetrator and liquid explorer in the approximately 2040 timeframe.

Stillwagen, F. H.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Return to Europa: Overview of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter Mission

Missions to explore Europa have been imagined ever since the Voyager mission first suggested that Europa was geologically very young. Subsequently, Galileo supplied fascinating new insights into that satellite's secrets. The Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO) would be the NASA-led portion of the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM), an international mission with orbiters developed by NASA, ESA and possibly JAXA. JEO would address a very important subset of the complete EJSM science objectives and is designed to function alone or in conjunction with ESA's Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter (JGO).

radiation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Science Technology Development Programs for Ocean Worlds Exploration

The exploration of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus supports NASA’s goal to search for life and potentially habitable regions elsewhere in the universe, and further promises to help us understand the origins, evolution, and limits of life on Earth. Over the past several years, NASA’s Planetary Science Division has funded several technology development programs to enable future surface and subsurface missions to ocean worlds. These programs include Instrument Concepts for Europa Exploration (ICEE), Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology (COLDTech), Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME), Applied Information Systems Research: Autonomous Robotics Research for Ocean Worlds (AISR:ARROW), and Astrodynamics in Support of Icy Worlds Missions. Tasks selected under these programs include the development of scientific instruments including seismometers, imagers, spectrometers, and organic analyzers, and platform technologies including drills, melt probes, through-ice communications, radiation-hard electronics, and autonomy for surface operations. This paper describes the objectives of each of these programs and provides a summary of the work that has been completed or is underway in each.

technology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Science Technology Development Programs for Ocean Worlds Exploration

The exploration of icy satellites such as Europa and Enceladus supports NASA’s goal to search for life and potentially habitable regions elsewhere in the universe, and further promises to help us understand the origins, evolution, and limits of life on Earth. Over the past several years, NASA’s Planetary Science Division has funded several technology development programs to enable future surface and subsurface missions to ocean worlds. These programs include Instrument Concepts for Europa Exploration (ICEE), Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology (COLDTech), Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME), Applied Information Systems Research: Autonomous Robotics Research for Ocean Worlds (AISR:ARROW), and Astrodynamics in Support of Icy Worlds Missions. Tasks selected under these programs include the development of scientific instruments including seismometers, imagers, spectrometers, and organic analyzers, and also platform technologies including drills, melt probes, through-ice communications, radiation-hard electronics, and autonomy for surface operations. This paper describes the objectives of each of these programs and provides a summary of the work that has been completed or is underway in each.

science instruments↗
NASA NTRS2022

NASA Science Technology Development Programs for Ocean Worlds Exploration

The exploration of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus supports NASA’s goal to search for life and potentially habitable regions elsewhere in the universe, and further promises to help us understand the origins, evolution, and limits of life on Earth. Over the past several years, NASA’s Planetary Science Division has funded several technology development programs to enable future surface and subsurface missions to ocean worlds. These programs include Instrument Concepts for Europa Exploration (ICEE), Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology (COLDTech), Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa (SESAME), Applied Information Systems Research: Autonomous Robotics Research for Ocean Worlds (AISR:ARROW), and Astrodynamics in Support of Icy Worlds Missions. Tasks selected under these programs include the development of scientific instruments including seismometers, imagers, spectrometers, and organic analyzers, and platform technologies including drills, melt probes, through-ice communications, radiation-hard electronics, and autonomy for surface operations. This paper describes the objectives of each of these programs and provides a summary of the work that has been completed or is underway in each.

Nayar, Hari D↗
NASA NTRS2008

Solar-Powered Europa Orbiter Design Study (2007)

The feasibility of implementing a solar-powered mission around Europa has been evaluated periodically over the last decade. Most recently, an assessment was performed as part of the 2006 Europa Explorer (EE) Study, which evaluated the practicality of implementing that mission design with large solar arrays instead of radioisotope power systems (RPS). This previous study went into some depth in considering the issues related to the use of solar arrays in the Europa orbit illumination and radiation environment. The study concluded that an all-solar option was impractical to meet the science objectives as defined in that study by the science team. This conclusion resulted from the prohibitive mass, packaging and articulation issues associated with the very large (approx.300 sq m) solar arrays required to accommodate frequent eclipse periods associated with the particular Europa orbit used.

Europa↗