Inside NASA Europa Ocean Moon Mission

Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) operating in the ISS.

Many Ocean questions have been answered by humanity. Is water only found on Earth, is one of these questions. Is water a common element in the solar system and outer solar system? That is a question which humankind is answering in the 11th hour. The answers to these questions brought forward -like all good science does, many new questions. As we gain comprehension on the wider Universal Hydrological Cycles, gain insight on ocean´s in worlds beyond our own, missions to distant planets and moons draw closer and closer. 

On May 8th Examiner participated in the media flow which revealed inside information on NASA plans to add a "lander" to the Europa NASA Mission. Europa´s Oceans are “the main target” in the search for forms of life living beyond our planet. 

NASA´s own Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains that initially the project for the Europa Clipper included only an orbit flyby expedition. The mission out to investigate the ocean's icy moon, believed to be a hotspot for potential biological life forms did not initially consider landing on the Jupiter's satellite. Oceanographers believe that one of the possibilities is that if the life forms in Europa's Oceans could be very similar to those living in Earth's Oceans.

NASA lists the Europa Clipper Mission Status as: “Proposed” and the Launch Date as: “To be determined”.

Chron Blog ran a report written by Eric Berger on May 8th who assured to have inside seats  on meetings about the Europa mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, near Los Angeles.

"US Rep. John Culberson, who oversees NASA’s budget in the House, thought I might enjoy the discussions, and he invited me along," the report states. 

That same day several media such as the Examiner and WN confirmed the information of the article. 

At times -while exciting the outer space ocean exploration becomes dull, slow, bureaucratic and filled with budget blocks. The addition of technology to existing NASA missions is not new. During the Moon Race Era NASA added several technologies to explore our own moon which were not originally included in the project such as the Lunar Rover. 

Media assured that Congress appears to be likely of supporting the idea of adding a lander to the Europa Clipper mission. For space enthusiasts, global scientific community, oceanographers and probably any other science sector not to include a lander in a mission that is already set to travel all the way to Jupiter and orbit Europa Moon is like standing at the goal line and not making the final kick. NASA is already developing and financing ideas for new technology. 

Eric Berger who sat through the meetings described US Rep. John Culberson as a “huge fan of planetary science” with a “particular affinity for Europa”. 

The “Europa Clipper” will fly down to within about 25 kilometers of the moon’s surface and then, in an elliptical orbit fly back out to escape the harsh radiation environment near Europa for most of the time.

Examiner reported that two options are being considered for the landers, one would go for a “hard land” and the other for a “soft land” -controlled landing of a spacecraft during which no serious damage is incurred. So it all comes down to technology innovation, creativity and budget restrictions. To say that a hard landing is more cheap than a soft land is an incorrect statement because there are so many factors involved that need to be analyzed. Restrictions as always are found in space available for the “lander” on the Europa clipper. It is too early in the day to say which technology will gain its space on the Europa Clipper and explore the oceans of the distant moon. 

The Europa Clipper Mission has a budget of 2 billion USD and aims for launch on a SLS rocket on 2022. 

The development of soft landing technology capable of exploring ocean environments even on distant planets becomes of interest for the oceanographic sector and ocean scientists. Modern Ocean Robotics are showing a tendency of development which is on the rise driven by the scientific community. Even when the scientific sector has budget restrictions when compared to other ocean sectors such as exploitation of natural resource it is the scientific sector which is  breaking limits on ocean robotics. The new generations of Ocean Robotics is forced to be innovative and the results are incredibly inspiring. The ocean environments are being probed as never before. Deep water robots, ROVs, unmanned autonomous vehicles, moorings and scanners are some of the breakthroughs which are now installed in the ocean science community and used on daily basis for scientific ocean studies here on Earth. 

NASA is also interested in fueling the imagination of those who believe they have what it takes to make things possible for outer ocean space exploration. NASA is financing the best proposals they get their hands on. 

On May 11th International News reported that NASA is funding 15 new innovative ideas through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts NIAC. Additionally the organization runs several other programs to inspire new developers as well as open doors to other agencies and the private sector for participation. 

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts NIAC is all about “visionary ideas” that can “transform future NASA missions”. Words like “radical, breakthroughs, new aerospace concepts and innovations” are laid on the journey.

NASA communicated that advanced space technology concepts have been selected for further study. Of the 15 projects several are designed or focus on missions of outer space ocean environment exploration.

"The latest NIAC selections include a number of exciting concepts," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate STMD at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

NIAC Phase I awards are valued at approximately 100 thousand USD providing awardees the funding needed to conduct a nine-month initial definition and analysis study of their concepts. If the basic feasibility studies are successful, awardees can apply for Phase II awards, valued up to 500 thousand USD for two additional years of concept development.

"Most of the 2015 NIAC Phase I final candidates were outstanding, and choosing only 15 of them proved to be a challenge," said Jason Derleth, NIAC program executive. "We look forward to seeing how each new study will push boundaries and explore new approaches - that's what makes NIAC unique."

Projects selected include a soft-robotic rover inspired on a eel life forms, a glider-like unmanned aerial vehicle that sails without propulsion and others. 

Most noteable is the concept of Cryogenic Reservoir Inventory by Cost-Effective Kinetically Enhanced Technology CRICKET.  The proposal explores inexpensive robotic crawlers, hoppers and soccer-ball style buckey-bots capable of exploring environments. Multiple bots could be used to develop a high-resolution map to aid in potentially using these resources. Ocean Robotics has already proven that multiple deployable and mobile robots -capable of extracting information from the environment and attached to a central processing system are capable of delivering much more data than single ROVs.

NIAC is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which innovates, develops, tests and flies hardware for use in NASA's future missions. During the next 18 months, the directorate will make significant new investments to address several high-priority challenges in achieving safe and affordable deep space exploration.

"Europa is encased in a layer of ice beneath which is thought to be an ocean, warmed by the tidal forces exerted by Jupiter. Where liquid water exists, so might life, though in Europa’s case not as we know it. That fact makes the moon of Jupiter a prime target for space exploration, hence the enthusiasm of scientists and Congress alike for undertaking such a mission,"  the Examiner reported on the basis of presentation of adding a Lander to the Europa clipper in the US House.