Europa Clipper is a robotic spacecraft mission under development by NASA to study the Jupiter moon Europa. The spacecraft will make multiple flybys of Europa at varying altitudes in order to map its surface and probe its interior for evidence of a subsurface ocean.
The mission is named after the clipper ships of the 19th century that sailed between Europe and America. It will be launched on a Space Launch System rocket in the mid-2020s, and is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2029.
Europa Clipper will carry nine scientific instruments:
1) Mapping Camera (MAPcam): A visible imaging camera and spectrometer that will be used to produce high-resolution images and color maps of Europa’s surface.
2) Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS): An infrared camera that will measure the heat radiation emitted from Europa’s surface in order to create thermal maps.
3) Reflected Radiation Imaging Spectrometer (RETROSPECT): A visible/near-infrared spectrometer that will measure reflected sunlight off of Europa’s surface in order to characterize its composition.
4) Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS): An ultraviolet spectrograph that will study how sunlight interacts with Europa’s atmosphere and ionosphere.
5) Magnetometer (MAG): A device that will measure the strength and orientation of Jupiter’s magnetic field near Europa, as well as any potential magnetic field generated by a subsurface ocean.
6) Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS): A mass spectrometer that will analyze particles in Jupiter’s magnetosphere near Europa in order to infer the properties of a potential subsurface ocean. 7) Radio Science Subsystem (RSS): A radio transmitter and receiver that uses radio waves to probe Europa’s interior structure, including any subsurface oceans, by measuring changes in the spacecraft’s trajectory caused by variations in gravity. 8 ) Stellar Reference Unit (SRU): A star tracker that uses optical sensors to determine precise positions for navigation purposes. 9) Europan Ice Explorer Toolkit (E-Xplorer; not yet selected ): One or more penetrating instruments, such as a drill or ice screw, which could collect samples from beneath Europa’s icy surface for analysis back on Earth.”