Tag: Europa
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NASA selects science instruments for proposed Europa mission
NASA has selected nine out of 33 proposed instruments for inclusion in a proposed mission to the tantalizing Jovian moon known as Europa. With a primary goal of evaluating if the moon is habitable, the mission is now heading towards a Key Decision Point (KDP) to build towards “formalization”. Launching in the 2020s, the mission…
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NASA selects instruments for Europa mission
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Taking a major step toward an eventual robotic mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter believed to harbor ice-locked lakes and a vast sub-surface ocean, NASA has selected nine sophisticated instruments for a solar-powered spacecraft designed to find out whether the hidden realm could support life…
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Falcon Heavy enabler for Dragon solar system explorer
SpaceX head Elon Musk has revealed plans to utilize the Falcon Heavy and Dragon 2 vehicles for science missions throughout the solar system. Citing Dragon 2’s capability as a “science delivery platform”, Mr. Musk claimed the crew-capable spacecraft could also be tasked with landing scientific payloads at destinations ranging from the Moon and Mars –…
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NASA invites ESA to build Europa piggyback probe
Artist’s concept of the Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After walking away from a previously planned joint mission to Jupiter, NASA has asked the European Space Agency if it can furnish a lander or ice-penetrating probe for a rejuvenated U.S.-led robotic spacecraft to visit Jupiter’s moon Europa. NASA’s mission to Europa is scheduled to launch…
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Europa Clipper concept team aims for launch in 2022
Artist’s concept of the Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL With a commitment from the Obama administration finally in hand after more than a decade of studies and concept papers, NASA expects to give the green light this year for development of a robotic probe to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa that could launch as soon as…
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NASA budget proposal to initiate Europa mission plan
NASA’s 2016 budget proposal has provided a small amount of funding to formate a plan to create a flagship Europa mission. The funding will allow for an Agency level KDP-A (Key Decision Point), prior to entering formulation in the coming months. Space Launch System (SLS) managers have already been working with JPL on providing the launch…
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SLS manifest targets Europa and Mars Sample Return missions
NASA is moving up a gear with its manifest planning for the Space Launch System (SLS). A new internal manifest portrays a tag team approach, alternating SLS between crewed missions for Orion and major flagship science missions that includes sending a spacecraft to Europa and conducting a Mars Sample Return mission, all before the middle…
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SLS searching for missions to solve flight rate dilemma
Space Launch System (SLS) managers are continuing to look at potential – and as yet unfunded – science missions to provide their monster rocket with a viable number of flights. The flight rate dilemma was recently highlighted when it was admitted NASA had looked into “how slow” a launch rate could be viable for the…
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Following the decadal survey: NASA focus on Europa mission
In what is a significant step forward in planning for a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, NASA has released a Request for Information to the science and engineering communities for ideas regarding a mission to the Jovian moon to help address fundamental questions about the moon and the search for life beyond Earth. The Decadal…
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SLS positioning for ARRM and Europa missions
Space Launch System (SLS) managers are conducting a feasibility study into the use of a 5.4 meter payload fairing, with a view to enabling the use of the HLV for the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) spacecraft – set to launch in 2019 – and even a robotic mission to Europa. The effort is part…