{"id":39406,"date":"2015-02-02T19:53:26","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T11:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-budget-proposal-to-initiate-europa-mission-plan\/"},"modified":"2015-02-02T19:53:26","modified_gmt":"2015-02-02T11:53:26","slug":"nasa-budget-proposal-to-initiate-europa-mission-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-budget-proposal-to-initiate-europa-mission-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA budget proposal to initiate Europa mission plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s 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 vehicle option for the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Europa Mission:<\/p>\n

The ambition of sending a spacecraft to Europa is nothing new \u2013 such as in the planetary science decadal survey \u2013 but the mission has yet to receive the required funding to make it a reality.<\/p>\n

This is despite the clear importance the Jovian moon has in NASA\u2019s goal to find life elsewhere in our solar system.<\/p>\n

\"2015-02-03\u201cJupiter\u2019s moon Europa is one of the most likely places to find current life beyond our Earth,\u201d noted NASA in its overview of upcoming budget priorities. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor over 15 years NASA has developed concepts to explore Europa and determine if it is habitable based on characteristics of its vast oceans (twice the size of all of Earth\u2019s oceans combined), the ice surface \u2013 ocean interface, the chemical composition of the intriguing, irregular brown surface areas, and the current geologic activity providing energy to the system,\u201d noted the budget overview documentation on Monday.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft that would be tasked with a mission to study the moon is called the Europa Clipper.<\/p>\n

\"Z27\"It has been envisioned that such a spacecraft would be sent into orbit around Jupiter in order to perform a detailed investigation of Europa. The mission calls for a highly capable, radiation-tolerant spacecraft working in a long, looping orbit around Jupiter to perform repeated close flybys of Europa.<\/p>\n

Whenever this mission is mentioned, analysts continue to point out it won\u2019t become a reality until NASA commits to the required funding.<\/p>\n

Space Shuttle models<\/path>Rocket building kits<\/path>Space Shuttle<\/path>\n

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n

This was the case when the Europa Clipper gained several mentions in SLS documentation, claiming the spacecraft could enjoy a speedy transit to Jupiter via the powerful rocket\u2019s increased capability. The problem is the cost of the mission would be greatly increased by riding on the expensive SLS.<\/p>\n

\"Z23\"However, that did not deter several studies being conducted between the launch vehicle and spacecraft stewards, ranging from an exercise in planning between SLS and JPL, through to payload fairing designs.<\/p>\n

Such evaluations are commonplace, with SLS teams working notional Design Reference Mission (DRM) parameters to find missions for the monster rocket in the 2020s.<\/p>\n

However, it has been noted there is now \u201cfrequent communication\u201d between the Europa office at JPL and the SLS Program Office, with an exchange of data, analysis results and engineering computer models between the two organizations.<\/p>\n

Recently, the evaluations stepped up a gear to involve the Ground Ops team at KSC, through to the Launch Services Program (LSP).<\/p>\n

\"2015-02-03The SLS management also called for a System Requirements Review (SRR) late last year, working with the workhorse version of the SLS \u2013 the Block 1B \u2013 which is set to launch the majority of SLS missions in the 2020s.<\/p>\n

While such a potential mission is not hand tied to the SLS, the benefits of utilizing the superior performance of SLS would result in the aforementioned mission transit time being vastly reduced, when compared to the eight or so years it would take via a current launch vehicle.<\/p>\n

The marriage of a flagship science mission with SLS may also prove to be of interest politically, especially with lawmakers who support SLS.<\/p>\n

\"2014-11-04The mission, involving SLS, also gained an initial \u2013 albeit notional \u2013 launch target of June 2022, with a backup opportunity in July 2023.<\/p>\n

Based on the latest budget numbers, the latter date would likely be the most realistic NET (No Earlier Than) target, unless political interest in the mission advanced significantly.<\/p>\n

This appears to have been pre-empted by SLS management, with the notional Europa mission now showing as 2025 in the L2 SLS manifest update \u2013 one of two SLS missions that year.<\/p>\n

Notably, the budget documentation has at least provided official acknowledgement of the study work that has been ongoing of late \u2013 at least on the spacecraft side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter thorough investigation of concept options, the study teams have identified a flyby concept that delivers the most science for the least cost and risk of all the concepts studied,\u201d noted the budget outline.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n