Planned Geological Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission
Name
11214_2023_Article_1036.pdf
Size
7.04 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
ebd76134393ec4edae59520f01b05daf
Author(s)
Daubar, I. J.
Hayes, A. G.
Collins, G. C.
Craft, K. L.
Rathbun, J. A.
Spencer, J. R.
Wyrick, D. Y.
Bland, M. T.
Davies, A. G.
Ernst, C. M.
Date Issued
February 2024
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation
Space Science Reviews. 2024 Feb 12;220(1):18
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Geological investigations planned for the Europa Clipper mission will examine the formation, evolution, and expression of geomorphic structures found on the surface. Understanding geologic features, their formation, and any recent activity are key inputs in constraining Europa’s potential for habitability. In addition to providing information about the moon’s habitability, the geologic study of Europa is compelling in and of itself. Here we provide a high-level, cross-instrument, and cross-discipline overview of the geologic investigations planned within the Europa Clipper mission. Europa’s fascinating collection of ice-focused geology provides an unparalleled opportunity to investigate the dynamics of icy shells, ice-ocean exchange processes, and global-scale tectonic and tidal stresses. We present an overview of what is currently known about the geology of Europa, from global to local scales, highlighting outstanding issues and open questions, and detailing how the Europa Clipper mission will address them. We describe the mission’s strategy for searching for and characterizing current activity in the form of possible active plumes, thermal anomalies, evidence for surface changes, and extremely fresh surface exposures. The complementary and synergistic nature of the data sets from the various instruments and their integration will be key to significantly advancing our understanding of Europa’s geology.
Subjects
Space and Planetary Science
Astronomy and Astrophysics
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01036-z
