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NASA has spent decades closely studying several planets in our solar system. Probes like Juno and Cassini have taught us a lot about the state of the planets where they are sent, but often the moons surrounding these planets are as interesting as the planets themselves. Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, is of particular interest to astronomers, and NASA will send a new spacecraft to check it.
The mission, called Europa Clipper, will see a spacecraft sent to Europa and will orbit the moon for several years. The mission will attempt to answer many questions about Europa, but to do this, the spacecraft needs an incredibly powerful antenna.
In a new blog post, NASA unveils some of its internal tests related to Europa Clipper, and more particularly to the high-gain antenna that will be equipped with the spacecraft. The massive parable will facilitate communication between the spacecraft and its managers on Earth, playing a major role in the success or failure of the mission.
At present, a large-scale prototype of the antenna (seen above) is being tested in the experimental test area of NASA's Langley Research Center. The tests will help engineers understand how the antenna works when it is away from Earth and transmit information to NASA. Ensuring the transmission of the data collected by the spacecraft is obviously very important, and the antenna must be able to transmit its signals precisely at home.
The Europa Clipper mission will not start for at least three or four years, but the work being done today will be critical to its success. Once launched and arrived in Europa, the satellite will spend at least three years relaying high resolution images and other readings, eventually revealing whether the conditions on the icy moon are conducive to life.
Source of image: NASA
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