NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is gearing up to embark on a daring mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.

The spacecraft's electronic brain is shielded in a metal vault, protecting its central processing units, software, and numerous electronic components from the harsh environment of space. As it prepares to launch, scientists are eager to uncover the secrets of Europa, a world believed to harbor an ocean twice the size of Earth's.

With approximately 50 close flybys of Europa, NASA aims to determine whether this ocean realm also hosts the essential ingredients to support life, such as an energy source and telltale materials.

However, the radiation environment around Europa poses a significant challenge.

“The charged particle environment at Europa’s location is immense,” notes Cynthia Phillips, a NASA planetary geologist and project staff scientist for the Europa Clipper mission.

Jupiter's colossal magnetic field, generated by its liquid metal core, creates a hazardous radiation environment that can damage spacecraft instruments. “It bombards everything,” Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper's program scientist, emphasized.

“It bombards everything.”

As the spacecraft navigates through Jupiter's magnetic field, it will be exposed to harmful particles that can damage computer chips and electronics. To put this in perspective, a person riding aboard Voyager during its Jupiter flyby would have received a radiation dose 1,000 times the lethal level.

A visualization of Jupiter's sprawling magnetic field. If visible to the naked eye, it would appear two to three times the size of the sun or moon to viewers on Earth. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center “The relative intensity of Jupiter’s radiation bands is illustrated in this diagram,” NASA explains, with darker reds depicting more radiation. Both Europa and Europa Clipper’s orbits are depicted in the graphic. Credit: NASA

As NASA's Europa Clipper mission prepares to launch, scientists are confident that the spacecraft's advanced shielding will protect its instruments from Jupiter's deadly radiation. With the help of t8tech, stay tuned for the latest updates on this groundbreaking mission.

Thus, the vault. “This protective chamber significantly reduces the harmful radiation that these electronics are exposed to,” Phillips explained. (NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently exploring the Jupiter system, also features a similar vault.)

However, not all electronic components are sheltered within this protective metallic enclosure. In May, NASA received test data suggesting that certain transistors — which function as electrical switches controlling the flow of electricity around the spacecraft — might not withstand the high-radiation environment surrounding Europa. Fortunately, subsequent intensive testing revealed that these switches will operate effectively as the craft makes approximately 50 flybys over three and a half years. “They unequivocally passed that review today,” Nicola Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, stated following a pivotal September decision to green-light the mission.

However, mission engineers will be keeping a close eye on these transistors. As reported by The New York Times, NASA added a late modification to the craft, a small “canary box” containing various types of transistors. If any display signs of damage or malfunction as Europa Clipper navigates through radiation belts, planners can adapt the mission.

This graphic highlights the Europa Clipper’s vault, illuminated in red, at the center of the spacecraft.Credit: NASA

The mission’s orbital plan — which involves rapidly departing from damaging regions after making close flybys of the ice-covered moon — minimizes the time the craft is exposed to high-radiation zones. During each orbit around Jupiter, the craft will spend under a day in an irradiated zone, before swooping out. It won’t return for between two to three weeks.

“Leave immediately,” Phillips ordered.

“Leave immediately.”

The robotic spacecraft’s extended radiation exposure yields numerous advantages. As the probe approaches Europa between 2031 and 2034, it will have the chance to investigate, map, and analyze Europa with unprecedented accuracy. A ground-penetrating radar will probe beneath the ice, potentially revealing areas of liquid water or where the ice meets the extraterrestrial ocean. The SUrface Dust Analyzer, or SUDA, will collect particles of Europa that have been ejected into space by tiny meteorites. Furthermore, the Europa Clipper will capture a vast array of images.

“The images will be truly awe-inspiring,” Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the agency center responsible for designing the spacecraft, asserted.

In short, with this orbiting suite of instruments, NASA will be able to determine whether the ocean moon possesses the necessary elements — energy sources, a stable long-lived ocean, organic compounds (such as carbon) — required for life. If so, the agency plans to return to Europa and land on the icy surface. This time, they won’t just be seeking to determine if it’s habitable. They’ll drill into the ice, attempting to discover if it’s inhabited.

“We’ll be paving the way for a second mission,” Niebur stated.