NASA picks 9 tools to scope out icy moon – and maybe alien life

The space agency recently announced the selection of that will be used to analyze Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter that may be home to subglacial oceans and, possibly, life. “This is a giant step in our search for oases that could support life in our own celestial backyard,” Curt Niebur, scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in announcing the program. “We’re confident that this versatile set of science instruments will produce exciting discoveries on a much-anticipated mission.” After soliciting proposals for Europa instruments last year, NASA reviewed 33 possibilities and selected nine instruments, from ice-penetrating radar to thermal imaging systems. The aim: Get intimate with a moon that could hold twice as much water as the Earth -- and be home to life. “Europa has tantalized us with its enigmatic icy surface and evidence of a vast ocean, following the amazing data from 11 flybys of the Galileo spacecraft over a decade ago and recent Hubble observations suggesting plumes of water shooting out from the moon," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “We’re excited about the potential of this new mission and these instruments to unravel the mysteries of Europa in our quest to find evidence of life beyond Earth.” The instruments are not off-the-shelf solutions. “A lot of people mistakenly believe that we simply use standard instruments on our missions. We don’t,” Niebur told FCW. “Each instrument is a unique piece specially designed to do its unique job in a unique environment.” The nine below, per NASA’s announcement: The instruments won’t be scoping out Europa for years. “It’s important to keep in mind that the [investigators] did not submit proposals with the final blueprints for their instruments,” Niebur told FCW. “They provided a ‘first draft’ of a design for their instruments … [b]ut now the rubber meets the road. They need to prove the design will work, and to improve it as needed.” Niebur noted that investigators will face the “big challenge” of designing instruments that work together and with the entire spacecraft. Over the next two years, spacecraft and instrument design will be iteratively tweaked in an “incredibly complex and detailed” process to ensure everything fits together, Niebur said. Actually building hardware will take another three years, and that will be followed by roughly a year and a half of assembly and testing. “Of course, the pace at which we work is dependent upon how much funding we receive,” Niebur said. “But even with all the money in the world you can only physically fit so many people around the spacecraft at a time to work on it.” The selection of scientific instruments is a huge step forward, Niebur said, but the design of the spacecraft’s power, propulsion and other systems will be tough. “Imagine your car having to survive temperature fluctuations of hundreds of degrees, radiation levels like those inside a nuclear reactor, rocks being thrown at it, huge vibrations, etc.,” Niebur said. “And no maintenance or checkups ever.” And despite the progress, the fact that much remains to be done may be best demonstrated by NASA’s statement on the tool that would actually get the other tools off the launch pad: “[I]t is premature to discuss a rocket for a Europa mission at this time.” The Europa mission has $30 million set aside in the president’s fiscal 2016 , a figure slated to ramp up to $100 million by 2020.