NASA’s largest spacecraft is flying through a dangerous part of the solar system

The brain of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is housed in a metallic basement.

It’s where the giant test vehicle — the length of a basketball court — houses its computers, software, and most of its electronics. On Oct.14, the spacecraft was launched to Jupiter’s moon Europa, which scientists suspect has an ocean. double the dose Of the world. With about 50 approaches made by Europa, NASA will be able to confidently answer the question of whether this ocean kingdom also carries ingredients, such as a source of energy and defining substances, to support life.

However, the surrounding areas of radiation are very difficult.

“The particle traffic situation in Europa’s environment is huge,” Cynthia Phillips, a NASA planetary scientist and staff scientist for the Europa Clipper mission, told Mashable.

Jupiter, a giant gas planet 317 times the size of Earth, produces a magnetic field that shoots between 600,000 and 2 million miles (1 to 3 million kilometers) from the sun. It is created by the liquid iron core of the planet, which rotates and creates electric currents (moving electrical charges that create magnets). At worst, this magnetic field captures and accelerates the relentless solar wind – a stream of rapidly charged particles emitted by the sun – creating powerful radiation belts around Jupiter.

“Everything explodes.”

Any craft orbiting the planet will likely pass through these hazardous areas and expose tools to hazardous particles, which can damage computer chips and electronics. “It’s attacking everything,” said Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist, at a press conference before the mission’s launch. Decades ago, during the Voyager mission, NASA engineers were concerned about the craft passing by Jupiter. A person aboard Voyager as it passed by Jupiter would have received a dose of radiation 1,000 times lethal level.

“The relative intensity of Jupiter’s radiation belts is shown in this diagram,” explains NASA, with darker reds indicating more radiation. Both the orbits of Europa and the Europa Clipper are shown in the figure.
Credit: NASA

So, the vault. “The vault greatly reduces the harmful radiation that these electronics receive,” Phillips said. (NASA’s Juno mission, which explores Jupiter’s main system, also hosts the vault.)

However, there are electronics outside this protective metal box. And in May NASA received test data that suggested some of the transistors – which are electrical switches that control how electricity flows around the spacecraft – could not withstand the high radiation around Europa. Fortunately, intensive follow-up tests showed that these changes would work as the craft made 50 flybys over the course of three and a half years. “They unequivocally passed on that review today,” said Nicola Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, following the landmark decision in September to greenlight the mission.

But mechanical engineers will be watching these transistors closely. As i New York Times reported, NASA tied a late addition to the project, a small “canary box” that holds different types of transistors. If there are any signs of damage or malfunction as the Europa Clipper passes through the radiation belts, planners can adjust the mission.

In this image, the red lighted box shows the Europa Clipper in the middle of the spacecraft.
Credit: NASA

An artist’s view of the oceans, and geothermal energy sources, that may exist beneath Europa’s thick ice sheets.
Credit: NASA

Already, the mission’s orbital plan – which is to move away from harmful environments after making a close flyby of the ice-covered moon – reduces the time the craft is exposed to high-radiation environments. During each orbit of Jupiter, the craft will spend less than a day in the radiation zone, before sneaking out. It won’t be back for two to three weeks.

“Get out of there,” Phillips told Mashable.

“Get out of there.”

The robotic spacecraft’s exposure to radiation, however, comes with rewards. When the probe dives closer to Europa between 2031 and 2034, it will have the opportunity to observe, scan, and investigate Europa in unprecedented detail. Ground-penetrating radar will look under the ice, and detect areas of liquid water or where the ice meets the unknown ocean. An instrument called the SUrface Dust Analyzer, or SUDA, will literally sample Europa’s dust ejected into the atmosphere by small meteorites. And, of course, the Europa Clipper will take lots of pictures.

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“The pictures are going to be spectacular,” said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the agency’s agency that developed the project.

All in all, with this orbiting laboratory of metals, NASA will be able to determine whether the moon’s ocean has the right things – energy sources, long-term stable oceans, organic compounds (like carbon) – for life. If so, the agency plans to return to Europa and land on the ice. In this case, they will not just look to see if it can be accommodated. They will drill into the ice, see if it is there people live.

“We’re going to be knocking on doors for second jobs,” Niebur said.

This story has been updated with information about the launch of the Europa Clipper from the Kennedy Space Center.