Researchers from the University of Bern participate in the NASA mission

On Monday, October 14, 2024, NASA's Europa Clipper mission begins its journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft is the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, and will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's Europa Clipper will travel 2.9 billion kilometers to reach Jupiter in April 2030. The main scientific goal is to determine whether there are places with habitable conditions under the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Orbiting Jupiter, the spacecraft will fly over Europa nearly 50 times at just 25 kilometers above the surface, hovering over a different location on each flyby to survey almost the entire moon.

Europa Clipper has a powerful suite of nine scientific instruments operating simultaneously and collecting data to achieve the mission's scientific objectives. During each flight, the entire instrument suite will take measurements and take photographs that will ultimately provide a detailed overview of Europe. On board the spacecraft is the European Imaging System (EIS), a camera system designed and built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The EIS science team is led by Elisabeth Turtle of APL, and Nicholas Thomas, professor of astrophysics at the University of Bern, is a co-investigator. Members of the EIS science team also include Antoine Pomerol, co-leader of the Thomas Planetary Imaging Group at the Department of Space Exploration and Planetary Science at the Institute of Physics at the University of Bern, and Caroline Hasselbaker, who has just completed her PhD in the same group. Audrey Förberger, assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Bern, is a member of the Europe Clipper science team for the MASPEX mass spectrometer.

Extensive experience and expertise in camera systems at the University of Bern

“It is a great honor to be part of this incredibly exciting mission,” says Nicholas Thomas, who was appointed to the EIS science team due to his extensive experience and expertise in camera systems. This also includes the CaSSIS camera system on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which provides stunning images of Mars and was developed by an international team led by Thomas and built at the University of Bern. “I hope that the EIS camera will be able to determine whether there is liquid water near the surface of Europa, and if so, whether it is periodic or aperiodic, as well as pinpoint the location and time of its last appearance,” Thomas explains. .

Antoine Pomerol, also a member of the EIS science team, has extensive experience in calibrating and analyzing remote sensing data from various objects in the solar system with icy surfaces such as Mars and comets. At the University of Bern, he developed a unique experimental facility to simulate icy lunar surfaces such as that of Jupiter's moon Europa. “We can simulate materials and surface conditions, measure reflectance and use this data to prepare an interpretation of future results,” explains Pomerol. Therefore, he closely follows all discussions regarding camera system calibration and prepares experimental datasets for future interpretation of data collected over Europe.

Caroline Hasselbaker joined the scientific team at the School of International Studies through her PhD supervisor Thomas. “I am very pleased to be able to offer Caroline Haslebacher the opportunity to join the EIS science team. Getting young researchers involved in this type of mission at an early stage is life-changing,” says Thomas. Haslebacher is developing a target database to support planning for EIS imaging over Europa. “Efforts to develop a targeted database will help prioritize observations, which is important due to the limited time during flight operations, and the limited volume of data. The young scientist is particularly looking forward to imaging areas in Europe that were previously only visible at low resolution.” Imaged by EIS with unprecedented pixel size.

Synergy with “sister mission” to Jupiter

Audrey Forberger, who has extensive experience in mass spectrometry, is also participating in the Europa Clipper mission. She is a member of the science team for the MASPEX mass spectrometer, which will study the chemistry of the lunar subsurface ocean, how the ocean and surface materials exchange material, and how radiation changes compounds on the lunar surface.

Förberger is also participating in the European Space Agency's Goss space mission, which begins its journey to Jupiter in April 2023. She is the lead scientist for the NIM mass spectrometer, which was designed and built entirely at the University of Bern. “In my opinion, Goss and the Europa Clipper are like siblings: a little different, but a lot in common,” says Forberger. “For example, eight of the nine machines in Europe Clipper have an equivalent in Juice. However, the contours of their mission differ significantly. Joyce will explore the entire Jupiter system and eventually enter orbit around Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, while the Europa Clipper will focus on Europa and provide the first detailed study of the icy moon. Their similarities and differences make them two promising synergistic missions.” As Forberger concludes, Europa Clipper will provide invaluable information about Europa and will lay the foundation for future life-hunting missions.

More information about NASA Europa Clipper: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/