Scientists have identified Europa and Enceladus as two ocean worlds that likely harbor liquid water beneath their icy exteriors. The Europa Clipper mission is expected to reach Europa in April 2030. Should the mission yield data that suggests the moon may harbor life, future robotic lander missions could be essential for confirming the existence of life beneath the surface.
To facilitate these potential lander missions, the team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been developing a robotic system capable of conducting the search for extraterrestrial life. This technology has already undergone testing on the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska. Kevin Hand, a planetary scientist at JPL leading the initiative, stated, “At this point, this is a pretty mature concept.”
Confronting challenges
Despite the promise that Europa offers, several harsh realities concerning the moon’s surface conditions pose significant challenges for any lander missions. Primarily, Europa is subject to intense radiation which could jeopardize the electronic components of any robotic instruments. Additionally, the timing for communication is limited; a robotic lander would have contact with Earth for less than half of the 85-hour day-night cycle due to the moon’s orbit around Jupiter. Consequently, the lander would often be required to operate autonomously without the guidance of human teams.
The design of the lander must also rely on non-rechargeable batteries, as the distance from the Sun makes the use of solar panels impractical due to their size requirements. Moreover, the absence of permanent orbiters around Europa complicates the mission further. Unlike Mars, where communication infrastructure exists, Europa lacks such support, and high-resolution imagery of its surface is not available, which complicates landing operations. “We don’t know what Europa’s surface looks like at the centimeter to meter scale. Even the Europa Clipper will only provide images at a maximum resolution of about half a meter per pixel for select areas,” Hand elaborated.
