Exploring the interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper

James Roberts; William B. McKinnon; Catherine Elder; Gabriel Tobie; John Biersteker; Duncan Young; Ryan S. Park; Gregor Steinbrügge; Francis Nimmo; Samuel Howell; Julie C. Castillo-Rogez; Morgan Cable; Jacob Abrahams; Michael T. Bland; Chase Chivers; Corey Cochrane; Andrew Dombard; Carolyn M. Ernst; Antonio Genova; Christopher Gerekos; Christopher R. Glein; Camilla Harris; Hamish Hay; Paul O. Hayne; Matthew Hedman; Hauke Hussmann; Xianzhe Jia; Krishan Khurana; Walter Kiefer; Randolph L. Kirk; Margaret Kivelson; Justin D. Lawrence; Erin J. Leonard; Jonathan Lunine; Erwan Mazarico; Thomas B.  McCord; Alfred S. McEwen; Carol Paty; Lynnae Quick; Carol A. Raymond; Kurt Retherford; Lorenz Roth; Abigail Rymer; Joachim Saur; Kirk Scanlan; Dustin Schroeder; David Senske; Wencheng Shao; Krista Soderlund; Elizabeth Spiers; Marshall Styczinski; Paolo Tortora; Steven Vance; Michaela Villarreal; Benjamin Weiss; Joseph Westlake; Paul Withers; Natalie Wolfenbarger; Bonnie J. Buratti; Haje Korth; Robert Pappalardo; Interior Thematic Working Group

doi:10.1007/s11214-023-00990-y

Exploring the interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper

Space Science Reviews

By: James Roberts, William B. McKinnon, Catherine Elder, Gabriel Tobie, John Biersteker, Duncan Young, Ryan S. Park, Gregor Steinbrügge, Francis Nimmo, Samuel Howell, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Morgan Cable, Jacob Abrahams, Michael T. Bland, Chase Chivers, Corey Cochrane, Andrew Dombard, Carolyn M. Ernst, Antonio Genova, Christopher Gerekos, Christopher R. Glein, Camilla Harris, Hamish Hay, Paul O. Hayne, Matthew Hedman, Hauke Hussmann, Xianzhe Jia, Krishan Khurana, Walter Kiefer, Randolph L. Kirk, Margaret Kivelson, Justin D. Lawrence, Erin J. Leonard, Jonathan Lunine, Erwan Mazarico, Thomas B. McCord, Alfred S. McEwen, Carol Paty, Lynnae Quick, Carol A. Raymond, Kurt Retherford, Lorenz Roth, Abigail Rymer, Joachim Saur, Kirk Scanlan, Dustin Schroeder, David Senske, Wencheng Shao, Krista Soderlund, Elizabeth Spiers, Marshall Styczinski, Paolo Tortora, Steven Vance, Michaela Villarreal, Benjamin Weiss, Joseph Westlake, Paul Withers, Natalie Wolfenbarger, Bonnie J. Buratti, Haje Korth, Robert Pappalardo, and Interior Thematic Working Group

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-00990-y

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Abstract

The Galileo mission to Jupiter revealed that Europa is an ocean world. The Galileo magnetometer experiment in particular provided strong evidence for a salty subsurface ocean beneath the ice shell, likely in contact with the rocky core. Within the ice shell and ocean, a number of tectonic and geodynamic processes may operate today or have operated at some point in the past, including solid ice convection, diapirism, subsumption, and interstitial lake formation.

The science objectives of the Europa Clipper mission include the characterization of Europa’s interior; confirmation of the presence of a subsurface ocean; identification of constraints on the depth to this ocean, and on its salinity and thickness; and determination of processes of material exchange between the surface, ice shell, and ocean.

Three broad categories of investigation are planned to interrogate different aspects of the subsurface structure and properties of the ice shell and ocean: magnetic induction, subsurface radar sounding, and tidal deformation. These investigations are supplemented by several auxiliary measurements. Alone, each of these investigations will reveal unique information. Together, the synergy between these investigations will expose the secrets of the Europan interior in unprecedented detail, an essential step in evaluating the habitability of this ocean world.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Exploring the interior of Europa with the Europa Clipper
Series title	Space Science Reviews
DOI	10.1007/s11214-023-00990-y
Volume	219
Year Published	2023
Language	English
Publisher	Springer
Contributing office(s)	Astrogeology Science Center
Description	46, 44 p.
Other Geospatial	Europa
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page