Europa Clipper
The Europa Clipper mission, a robotic space probe being developed by NASA.
It's scheduled to launch in October 2024 and will embark on a daring mission to explore Jupiter's moon Europa.
Europa is one of the most intriguing moons in our solar system.
It's covered in a thick layer of ice, but scientists believe there's a vast ocean of liquid water hidden beneath.
This ocean could potentially have the ingredients necessary for life as we know it, making Europa a top contender in the search for extraterrestrial life.
The Europa Clipper will spend roughly three years orbiting Jupiter and making close flybys of Europa.
During these flybys, the spacecraft will use its sophisticated instruments to study the moon's ice shell, map its composition, and search for signs of plumes erupting from the ocean below.
The mission's goals are ambitious, but if successful, the Europa Clipper could revolutionize our understanding of Europa and its potential to harbor life.
It could also pave the way for future missions that could directly explore the Europan ocean, searching for definitive signs of alien life.
Artemis II
Artemis II is NASA's next major step on the path to the Moon and beyond.
As the first crewed mission of the Artemis program, it promises to be a thrilling chapter in space exploration.
Currently scheduled for late November 2024, with the exact date still to be determined.
Four brave astronauts will embark on this journey, marking the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will propel the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew towards the Moon.
Artemis II will be a lunar flyby mission, meaning the astronauts will slingshot around the Moon without landing, before returning to Earth.
The entire mission is expected to last around 10 days.
VIPER
NASA's upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission.
VIPER is a robotic rover set to launch in late 2024 and land on the Moon's South Pole in November 2024.
Its primary mission is to map and analyze water ice deposits in the permanently shadowed craters there.
This crucial information will help us understand the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and assess its potential as a resource for future lunar exploration.
Key facts:
Launch: Late 2024
Landing site: Nobile Region, Moon's South Pole
Mission duration: 100 Earth days (covering multiple lunar day-night cycles)
Distance goal: 12 miles (20 kilometers)
Rover size: Similar to a golf cart (5 ft x 5 ft x 8 ft, 450 kg)
Onboard instruments: 3 spectrometers and a 1-meter drill
Lunar Trailblazer and PRIME-1
Lunar Trailblazer and PRIME-1 are scheduled to launch in 2024 and will provide valuable insights into different aspects of the Moon.
Lunar Trailblazer:
Mission type: Small satellite orbiter
Primary objective: Map and analyze the distribution and abundance of water ice on the Moon's surface, particularly focusing on the polar regions.
Instruments: Two spectrometers specifically designed to detect water ice signatures in infrared wavelengths.
Launch date: Scheduled for launch as a secondary payload on the PRIME-1 mission in mid-2024.
Orbit: Planned to enter a 100 km (+- 30 km) circular polar orbit around the Moon.
Expected results: Lunar Trailblazer will create a comprehensive map of lunar water ice, aiding in resource assessment and future exploration planning.
PRIME-1:
Mission type: Lunar lander with robotic drill
Primary objective: Search for evidence of frozen water in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar South Pole.
Instruments:
TRIDENT (Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain): An auger drill capable of penetrating up to 1 meter below the lunar surface.
MSolo (Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations): Analyzes the composition of gases released during drilling to confirm the presence of water ice.
Launch date: Scheduled for mid-2024.
Landing site: Nobile Crater region near the lunar South Pole.
JAXA - ESA’s Hera mission
It's a planetary defense mission, not a lunar mission.
Its primary objective is to study a binary asteroid system called Didymos and its moon Dimorphos
To learn more about asteroid deflection techniques in case of a potential Earth impact.
The mission is still in development, with a planned launch date of October 2024.
JAXA is not the lead agency for this mission.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is, and JAXA is contributing the mission's thermal imager and scientific expertise.
COMMENTS