Jupiter Lunar Europe Radiation Maps: Key to Future Missions

Since NASA 's Galileo mission demonstrated the existence of a global ocean beneath the icy shells of Europe in the 1990s, scientists have considered this moon as the only one in the world. one of the most promising places in our solar system. There is even evidence that salt water that slides around the moon's interior is making its way to the surface.

By studying this material from the inside, scientists developing future missions hope to learn more about the livability of the ocean. is bombarded by a constant and intense explosion of Jupiter radiation. This radiation can destroy or alter the materials transported to the surface, making it more difficult for scientists to know if this really represents the conditions in the ocean of Europe.

While scientists plan Europa's exploration, they are grappling with many unknowns. Is radiation the most intense? How deep are the energy particles? How radiation affects what is on the surface and below – including potential chemical signs or biological signatures that could imply the presence of life.

A new scientific study published today in Nature Astronomy represents the most complete modeling and mapping of radiation. at Europa and offers key pieces for the puzzle. The lead author is Tom Nordheim, a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"If we want to understand what is happening on the surface of Europa and how it relates to the ocean, we must understand radiation," said Nordheim. "When we look at the materials that come out of the basement, what are we looking at, does that tell us what is in the ocean, or is that what happened to the materials after that?" they were radiated? "

Using data from Europa's Galileo flybys two decades ago and electronic measurements of NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft. The team closely examined the electrons that dynamited the surface of the moon. They found that radiation doses vary by location. The harsher radiations are concentrated in the areas around the equator, and the radiation is getting closer to the poles.

Areas of hard radiation are in the form of oval regions, connected at the narrow ends, covering more than half of the 'C' and is the first prediction of the radiation levels at each point of the surface of the surface. Europe and it's important information for future Europa missions, "said Chris Paranicas, co-author of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

Scientists now know where to find the least radiation-impaired regions, which could be crucial information for the Europa Clipper led by the JPL, NASA's mission to guide Jupiter and to follow Europa with about 45 flights. The spacecraft could be launched as early as 2022 and will carry cameras, spectrometers, plasma and radar instruments to study the composition of the moon's surface, its oceans and materials ejected from the surface

. did not stop with a two-dimensional map. He went further, measuring how far the radiation penetrates the surface and building 3D models of the most intense radiation on Europa. The results tell us how deep scientists have to dig or drill, during a possible future Europa landing mission, to find biosignatures that could be retained.

The response ranges from 10 to 20 cm highest radiation zones – up to 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) deep in regions of Europe at medium to high latitudes, to the poles of the moon

To reach this conclusion, Nordheim tested the effect of radiation on amino acids, basic elements for proteins, to understand how the radiation of Europa would affect biosignatures potential. Amino acids are among the simplest molecules that qualify as potential biosignature, the paper notes.

"The radiation that bombards the surface of Europe leaves a fingerprint," said Kevin Hand, co-author of the new research project and Mission of Lander. "If we know what this fingerprint looks like, we can better understand the nature of all organic and possible biosignatures that could be detected in future missions, whether spacecraft flying over or landing on Europa.

possible routes of orbit, and proposed routes pass over many parts of Europe that experience lower levels of radiation, said Hand. "This is good news for potentially fresh ocean materials that have not been heavily modified by the fingerprint of radiation. "