Planned geological investigations of the Europa Clipper mission

Daubar, I. J. et al. (2024) Planned geological investigations of the Europa Clipper mission. Space Science Reviews, 220, 18. (doi: 10.1007/s11214-023-01036-z)

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by NASA through the Europa Clipper Project. A portion of this work was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Persaud, Dr Divya
• Authors: 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., Howell, S. M., Leonard, E. J., McEwen, A. S., Moore, J. M., Phillips, C. B., Prockter, L. M., Quick, L. C., Scully, J. E. C., Soderblom, J. M., Brooks, S. M., Cable, M., Cameron, M. E., Chan, K., Chivers, C. J., Choukroun, M., Cochrane, C. J., Diniega, S., Dombard, A. J., Elder, C. M., Gerekos, C., Glein, C., Greathouse, T. K., Grima, C., Gudipati, M. S., Hand, K. P., Hansen, C., Hayne, P., Hedman, M., Hughson, K., Jia, X., Lawrence, J., Meyer, H. M., Miller, K., Parekh, R., Patterson, G. W., Persaud, D.M., Piqueux, S., Retherford, K. D., Scanlan, K. M., Schenk, P., and Schmidt, B.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences > Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: Space Science Reviews
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0038-6308
• ISSN (Online): 1572-9672
• Published Online: 12 February 2024
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2024
• First Published: First published in Space Science Reviews 220:18
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence