Exploring the Interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper

James H. Roberts, William B. McKinnon, Catherine M. Elder, Gabriel Tobie, John B. Biersteker, Duncan Young, Ryan S. Park, Gregor Steinbrügge, Francis Nimmo, Samuel M. Howell, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Morgan L. Cable, Jacob N. Abrahams, Michael T. Bland, Chase Chivers, Corey J. Cochrane, Andrew J. Dombard, Carolyn Ernst, Antonio Genova, Christopher GerekosChristopher Glein, Camilla D. Harris, Hamish C.F.C. Hay, Paul O. Hayne, Matthew Hedman, Hauke Hussmann, Xianzhe Jia, Krishan Khurana, Walter S. Kiefer, Randolph Kirk, Margaret Kivelson, Justin Lawrence, Erin J. Leonard, Jonathan I. Lunine, Erwan Mazarico, Thomas B. McCord, Alfred McEwen, Carol Paty, Lynnae C. Quick, Carol A. Raymond, Kurt D. Retherford, Lorenz Roth, Abigail Rymer, Joachim Saur, Kirk Scanlan, Dustin M. Schroeder, David A. Senske, Wencheng Shao, Krista Soderlund, Elizabeth Spiers, Marshall J. Styczinski, Paolo Tortora, Steven D. Vance, Michaela N. Villarreal, Benjamin P. Weiss, Joseph H. Westlake, Paul Withers, Natalie Wolfenbarger, Bonnie Buratti, Haje Korth, Robert T. Pappalardo

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including solid ice convection, diapirism, subsumption, and interstitial lake formation. The science objectives of the Europa Clipper mission include the characterization of Europa’s interior; confirmation of the presence of a subsurface ocean; identification of constraints on the depth to this ocean, and on its salinity and thickness; and determination of processes of material exchange between the surface, ice shell, and ocean. Three broad categories of investigation are planned to interrogate different aspects of the subsurface structure and properties of the ice shell and ocean: magnetic induction, subsurface radar sounding, and tidal deformation. These investigations are supplemented by several auxiliary measurements. Alone, each of these investigations will reveal unique information. Together, the synergy between these investigations will expose the secrets of the Europan interior in unprecedented detail, an essential step in evaluating the habitability of this ocean world.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number46
JournalSpace Science Reviews
Volume219
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2023

Keywords

  • Europa Clipper
  • Ice-penetrating radar
  • Interior
  • Magnetic induction
  • Subsurface ocean
  • Tidal deformation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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