NASA has given the green light for next month’s launch of the Europa Clipper mission, set to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, following a review of the spacecraft’s resilience to intense radiation, on September 10. This approval, announced on Monday, comes after concerns were raised earlier this year regarding the reliability of the spacecraft’s transistors. Similar issues with electronics had surfaced in other missions, prompting NASA to expedite testing ahead of the tight October launch window, as per PTI.
The Europa Clipper mission, which costs $5 billion, aims to determine whether the ocean believed to exist beneath Europa’s icy surface could support life. With a launch scheduled for October 10 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, NASA has a three-week window to send the spacecraft on its journey. If missed, the mission would be delayed for over a year, waiting for the next ideal planetary alignment. The spacecraft must use gravitational assists from both Mars and Earth to reach Jupiter, as per PTI.
Jordan Evans, the project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, confirmed that the mission had addressed the concerns about transistor degradation. The transistors, found throughout the spacecraft’s circuits, are expected to suffer wear and tear from Europa’s intense radiation. However, Evans explained, “They should recover during the three weeks between each encounter,” referring to the 49 planned flybys of the moon.
Testing over the past four months involved teams from various labs working non-stop to ensure the spacecraft’s systems could handle the harsh environment. According to Evans, the team now has “high confidence we can complete the original mission for exploring Europa as planned. We are ready for Jupiter,” as quoted by PTI.
Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration, is set to take six years to reach Jupiter. Once there, it will orbit the planet every three weeks and conduct close flybys of Europa, coming as near as 16 miles (25 kilometers) to its surface. Using advanced instruments like ice-penetrating radar, the spacecraft will map nearly the entire moon, hoping to uncover clues about the ocean hidden beneath its icy shell, the report added.
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