Science of the Europa Clipper Mission Concept

The Europa Clipper mission concept would place a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter in order to perform a detailed investigation of Europa, a world that shows strong evidence for a liquid water ocean beneath its icy crust and which could host conditions favorable for life. As envisioned, the mission would send a highly capable, radiation-tolerant spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter to perform repeated close flybys of Europa. The Europa Clipper science objectives are: (1) Ocean and Ice Shell: Characterize the ice shell and any subsurface water, including their heterogeneity, ocean properties, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange; (2) Composition: Understand the habitability of Europa's ocean through composition and chemistry; (3) Geology: Understand the formation of surface features, including sites of recent or current activity, and characterize high science interest localities. To maximize success of a potential future landed mission, the Europa Clipper mission would include a reconnaissance capability. Reconnaissance objectives are: (1) Landing Safety: Assess the distribution of surface hazards, the load-bearing capacity of the surface, the structure of the subsurface, and the regolith thickness; (2) Scientific Value: Assess the composition of surface materials, the geologic context of the surface, the potential for geologic activity, the proximity of near surface water, and the potential for active upwelling of ocean material. Updates on the mission concept, the planning encounter trajectory, and science and reconnaissance objectives will be presented.