NASA’s Europa Clipper is now less than a month from its October 10 launch, and the US space agency has shown off the spacecraft’s giant solar arrays. However, concerns persist over how well the probe’s electronics will fare in the harsh Jovian environment.
Each of the Europa Clipper’s arrays measure 14.2 meters (46.5 feet) long and 4.1 meters (13.5 feet) high.
Indeed, the probe is a beast of a spacecraft. According to NASA, it is the largest the agency has ever created for a planetary mission, spanning more than 30.5 meters (100 feet) with its arrays deployed, and with a dry mass of 3,241 kg (7,145 pounds).
Those arrays need to be huge. The spacecraft is set to perform multiple flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, where it will receive only three to four percent of the sunlight that reaches Earth. There is, after all, a reason why many probes sent to distant parts of the solar system use Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG).
Together, the arrays will produce approximately 700 watts of electricity at Jupiter, or just enough to operate a small microwave oven.
Engineers deployed and tested the arrays in August and confirmed they were ready to launch. However, there might be other issues within Clipper that could yet cause problems when the probe explores Europa in the hope of discovering conditions that could support life.
There are concerns over the transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. After being notified that some of the parts might not be able to withstand the radiation environment of Jupiter, engineers began extensive testing of the components which revealed there was a good chance that some transistors might fail.
After another month or so of work, things improved somewhat, and NASA said, “Analysis of the results suggests the transistors can support the baseline mission.”
The US taxpayer could be forgiven for hoping for a bit more than just “suggests.”
During a press conference on September 9, Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said he had “very high confidence” the spacecraft would be capable of completing the original mission.
“During our orbits around Jupiter, while the Europa Clipper does dip into the radiation environment, once it comes out it comes out long enough for those transistors to have the opportunity to heal and partially recover between flybys.”
The current mission consists of 49 flybys of Europa and 80 orbits around Jupiter.
A comparison can be made between the Europa Clipper and the Voyager probes, which are still sending faint messages back to Earth, almost half a century after their launch. The veteran spacecraft were put through their paces before launch, and have gone on to make astonishing discoveries and observations.
The Europa Clipper is to conduct a detailed investigation of Jupiter’s moon Europa, and scientists hope it will be able to confirm predictions that beneath the moon’s icy crust is a liquid ocean capable of supporting life.
While the giant solar arrays shown off by NASA will ensure the probe has power, fingers will be crossed that that power will make it to the electronics when the Europa Clipper arrives at Jupiter in 2030. ®
