31 votes

NASA launches Europa Clipper mission to investigate namesake Jupiter's moon, a potentially habitable ocean world

5 comments

  1. KapteinB
    Link
    I've been looking forward to more Europa missions! In my armchair opinion, the most likely candidate for alien life in our solar system. That's the dream. But it makes sense to do this mission...

    I've been looking forward to more Europa missions! In my armchair opinion, the most likely candidate for alien life in our solar system.

    “Maybe it would be warm, maybe it would be the source of a plume. That could be somewhere that in the future maybe NASA could send a lander to scoop down below the surface and literally search for signs of life.”

    That's the dream. But it makes sense to do this mission without a lander, to learn more about the ice sheet and ocean first.

    11 votes
  2. [2]
    TumblingTurquoise
    Link
    This video from Veritasium is very interesting. He dives into the various technical challenges this mission poses: https://youtu.be/DJO_9auJhJQ?si=PwQOsOh5vaTdKNE_

    This video from Veritasium is very interesting. He dives into the various technical challenges this mission poses: https://youtu.be/DJO_9auJhJQ?si=PwQOsOh5vaTdKNE_

    8 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Brian McManus is an aerospace engineer, so the video released by Real Engineering is also super interesting too. He discusses the various technical challenges as well, but he focuses a bit more on...

      Brian McManus is an aerospace engineer, so the video released by Real Engineering is also super interesting too. He discusses the various technical challenges as well, but he focuses a bit more on the engineering of the probe itself: The Insane Engineering of Europa Clipper

      7 votes
  3. [2]
    zipf_slaw
    Link
    What's the latest on the batch of semiconductors that were installed and NASA found out from the manufacturer a few weeks before launch that they probably won't meet the radiation resilience that...

    What's the latest on the batch of semiconductors that were installed and NASA found out from the manufacturer a few weeks before launch that they probably won't meet the radiation resilience that they initially stated they could?

    1 vote
    1. goryramsy
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Here's hoping we don't end up with another safe mode...

      Here's hoping we don't end up with another safe mode...

      2 votes