{"id":787937,"date":"2024-08-27T17:41:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T22:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=787937"},"modified":"2024-08-27T17:41:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T22:41:51","slug":"is-there-a-low-radiation-path-to-europa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=787937","title":{"rendered":"Is There a Low-Radiation Path To Europa?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Any mission to Jupiter and its moons must contend with the gas giant\u2019s overwhelming radiation. Only a judicious orbital pattern and onboard protective measures can keep a spacecraft safe. Even then, the powerful radiation dictates a mission\u2019s lifespan.<\/p>\n<p>However, researchers may have found a way to approach at least one of Jupiter\u2019s moons without confronting that radiation. <\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-168235\"\/><\/p>\n<p>When NASA launched its Juno mission to Jupiter in 2011, it knew it was sending its spacecraft into an extreme radiation environment. Jupiter\u2019s radiation is generated by its magnetic field, which is 30,000 times stronger than Earth\u2019s. The magnetic field captures charged particles from Jupiter\u2019s environment and accelerates them to create its powerful radiation belts. <\/p>\n<p>Juno follows an elliptical polar orbit around Jupiter, dipping into the hazardous radiation for periods of time and then leaving it behind. Juno\u2019s most sensitive electronics are inside a titanium vault designed to resist the radiation for as long as possible. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/UkqABfo8dtzxnxdi2J\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" style=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>via GIPHY<\/p>\n<p>Astronomers are intensely interested in the Jovian system because three of its Galilean moons\u2014Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto\u2014appear to have warm oceans buried under layers of ice. This poses the question of habitability, but the first order of business is to confirm that these oceans are actually there. <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">ESA\u2019s\u00a0JUICE\u00a0(Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) is en route to Jupiter, and NASA\u2019s\u00a0Europa Clipper\u00a0will launch in a few weeks. (The Europa Clipper will overtake JUICE and reach Jupiter first.) Both missions will visit Europa and attempt to determine if its subsurface ocean is real. Both must contend with the intense radiation nea<\/span>r Jupiter. <\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Juno mission has created a radiation map of the Jupiter region and found a potential low-radiation route to Europa. How will it affect these and future missions? <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first detailed radiation map of the region at these higher energies, which is a major step in understanding how Jupiter\u2019s radiation environment works.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator, Juno mission<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Juno spacecraft and the people on the mission team get credit for finding the low-radiation route to Europa. Juno used its two low-light cameras used in deep space navigation to map the radiation environment near the icy moon. The result is the first complete 3D radiation map of the Jupiter system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn Juno we try to innovate new ways to use our sensors to learn about nature and have used many of our science instruments in ways they were not designed for,\u201d said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p>The instruments responsible are the Advanced Stellar Compass (ASC) and the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU). The ASC was designed and built in Denmark, and the SRU is from Italy. Most spacecraft have these types of instruments to help them navigate. <\/p>\n<p>The ASC is actually four cameras on the spacecraft\u2019s magnetometer boom. They orient the spacecraft in space and are also part of the magnetometer\u2019s mission to measure Jupiter\u2019s magnetic field in detail. The SRU helps Juno determine its attitude relative to a horizontal plane. It also serves as an in situ particle detector in Juno\u2019s Radiation Monitoring Investigation. <\/p>\n<p>Together, they\u2019ve been used to create the radiation map. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first detailed radiation map of the region at these higher energies, which is a major step in understanding how Jupiter\u2019s radiation environment works. That we\u2019ve been able to create the first detailed map of the region is a big deal, because we don\u2019t carry an instrument designed to look for radiation. The map will help planning observations for the next generation of missions to the Jovian system,\u201d says Scott Bolton.<\/p>\n<p>Juno\u2019s elliptical polar orbit means that as the spacecraft approaches the planet, a different part of the surface is directly underneath. While its job isn\u2019t to image Jupiter\u2019s surface, the ASC takes advantage of this. Since Juno has traversed the entire region around Jupiter, so has the ASC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery quarter-second the ASC takes an image of the stars,\u201d said Juno scientist John Leif J\u00f8rgensen, professor at the Technical University of Denmark. \u201cVery energetic electrons that penetrate its shielding leave a telltale signature in our images that looks like the trail of a firefly. The instrument is programmed to count the number of these fireflies, giving us an accurate calculation of the amount of radiation,\u201d said J\u00f8rgensen.<\/p>\n<p>Advanced Stellar Compass data revealed two important things. There is more very high-energy radiation relative to lower-energy radiation near Europa\u2019s orbit than scientists thought. There is also more high-energy radiation on the moon\u2019s leading orbital edge than on the trailing edge. This is because most electrons in Jupiter\u2019s magnetosphere overtake Europa from behind due to Jupiter\u2019s magnetic field rotation. But the high-energy electrons end up drifting backward, pummeling Europa\u2019s leading edge with high-energy radiation. Interactions with Europa\u2019s surface deplete them.<\/p>\n<p>The Stellar Reference Unit also contributed to a new understanding of how Jupiter\u2019s radiation affects Europa. It has been used as a low-light camera, which is its intended purpose, and as a radiation detector. <\/p>\n<p>An upcoming paper based on these observations will present a complete radiation map of Jupiter and its environment. Earlier this year, the same authors published a paper titled \u201cEuropa\u2019s Influence on the Jovian Energetic Electron Environment as Observed by Juno\u2019s Micro Advanced Stellar Compass.\u201d The lead author is Matija Herceg, a Senior Researcher in the Department of Space Research and Technology at the Technical University of Denmark. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs most of the energetic electrons, drifting retrograde, will encounter Europa and impact its downstream side before they can reach the upstream side, Europa will stop the energetic electron drift shells and will be mostly free from hard radiation on the upstream side,\u201d the authors wrote in their paper.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This graphic shows Europa orbiting Jupiter, with Juno\u2019s looping orbits shown in red. The yellow graph shows the radiation flux measurement during one of Juno\u2019s orbits. High-energy particles end up slamming into Europa\u2019s leading orbital edge while the wake is somewhat protected. The lower-radiation plasma wake is shown in green. Image Credit: Herceg et al. 2024. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Juno is on an extended mission now, and more orbits should capture more data on the radiation. <\/p>\n<p>The question is, can this low-radiation environment be used in future missions to avoid radiation exposure? It\u2019s possible, but more work needs to be done. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe results from the upcoming Juno orbits, during its mission extension, might result in populating the Juno plasma wake with additional crossing observations,\u201d Herceg and his co-authors write. \u201cAs the first in situ compilation of energetic electron flux observations of both upstream and plasma wake sides of Europa, the presented data set gives us estimates of the thickness and electron density distribution in the vicinity of Europa. The results from this paper could contribute to dedicated studies aimed at preparation for the upcoming NASA mission Europa Clipper and ESA\u2019s Juice mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of those dedicated studies, by the same authors as Herceg et al., will present the complete 3D radiation map of Jupiter. However, it\u2019s currently under peer review. Will that research lead to a low-radiation pathway to studying Europa, the most prized target in our search for life elsewhere in the Solar System?<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded\" id=\"like-post-wrapper-24000880-168235-66ce556f4cf49\" data-src=\"https:\/\/widgets.wp.com\/likes\/?ver=13.2#blog_id=24000880&amp;post_id=168235&amp;origin=www.universetoday.com&amp;obj_id=24000880-168235-66ce556f4cf49&amp;n=1\" data-name=\"like-post-frame-24000880-168235-66ce556f4cf49\" data-title=\"Like or Reblog\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Like this:<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"button\"><span>Like<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"loading\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sd-text-color\"\/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/168235\/is-there-a-low-radiation-path-to-europa\/?rand=772204\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Any mission to Jupiter and its moons must contend with the gas giant\u2019s overwhelming radiation. Only a judicious orbital pattern and onboard protective measures can keep a spacecraft safe. Even&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":787938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=787937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/787938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=787937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=787937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=787937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}