Scientists are Simulating Europa in the Lab, Learning What They Can Before Clipper Arrives in 2030 - by spacewriter
“The Ark is one of the only chambers on Earth with a large internal environment built to simulate Europa’s surface,” said Hand. “The Galileo mission revealed that the surface of Europa is telling a story not only about Europa’s subsurface, but also about how the surface changes as a result of temperature, pressure, and irradiation. Cameras, radar, and spectrometers on Europa Clipper will show us much more about the nature and structure of Europa’s ice.
Members of the Ocean Worlds Lab team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California open the Ark after a six-month experiment designed to simulate the conditions at and below the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Thompson Temperatures inside the Ark can go as low as 40 Kelvin , which can be too cold for some experiments. So, the team runs it a little warmer to see changes in the morphology of the ice. This more closely simulates some of the surface changes Europa Clipper will see during its visit to Jupiter’s moon. It averages around 110 Kelvin at the equator and about 50 Kelvin at the poles.
Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission. That remains a goal for a future lander. Think of the Clipper as a broad survey of the moon. It will orbit Jupiter and make nearly 50 flybys of Europa. It should do close approach passes at altitudes of about 25 kilometers above the surface. Eventually, it will scan the entire moon.The spacecraft will carry cameras and spectrometers to produce high-resolution images and composition maps of Europa’s surface and thin atmosphere.
The big question will be just how much the simulations at JPL match what the spacecraft sees when it arrives. Europa Clipper is supposed to launch in October 2024 and arrive at the Jupiter system to begin its flybys in 2030. So, everyone will have to wait a few years before the simulations in the Ark are matched by data from the mission.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Home drug lab suspected in San Francisco explosion that killed one, injured twoSAN FRANCISCO — An explosion and fire in a San Francisco residential neighborhood that killed a disabled woman and injured her caregiver and a firefighter was allegedly caused by a clandestine drug lab, according to police.
Weiterlesen »
Home drug lab suspected in San Francisco explosion that killed 1, injured 2An explosion and fire in a San Francisco residential neighborhood that killed a disabled woman and injured her caregiver and a firefighter was allegedly caused by a clandestine drug lab, according to police.
Weiterlesen »
Why so many problems at the Fort Worth crime lab?Whether someone is found guilty or acquitted in criminal court often hinges on the testimony of forensic scientists and trust in the laboratories where they...
Weiterlesen »
Nationwide recall issued for 56,000 Skippack Medical Lab COVID-19 Antigen TestsManufacturer Universal Meditech says its Skippack Medical Lab COVID-19 Rapid Antigen tests were distributed without appropriate pre-market clearance or approval.
Weiterlesen »
The History of the Lab RatThe history of the labrat 🐀 dates back centuries, and the sequencing of the rat genome in the early 2000s means rat research is providing more insight than ever.
Weiterlesen »
Frederator Network To Develop ‘The Land Of Boggs’ & Other BuzzFeed Animation Lab IP As SeriesEXCLUSIVE: BuzzFeed’s original digital properties are getting the longform treatment. Original digital properties from the publisher’s BuzzFeed Animation Labs unit such as The Land of Boggs wi…
Weiterlesen »