Plenary 6 : Europa Clipper: Making a Mission to Understand Our Place in the Universe

Wednesday 23 October 2019, 13:30 – 14:30
Location: The Walter E. Washington Convention Center – Grand Ballroom B

Since the earliest civilizations, two questions have driven humanity’s curiosity: where do we come from, and are we alone? Europa, an ocean moon of Jupiter, can provide some keys to help answer those fundamental questions. There is liquid water on Europa, and there is lots of it: about twice as much water as on Earth itself, encased within an ice shell. The Europa Clipper Mission, NASA’s next outer planet flagship mission, will explore Europa to investigate whether it harbors conditions suitable for life. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) leads the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). This session will discuss the scientific mysteries of Europa, engineering challenges, teaming approach, and outreach for Europa Clipper.

Europa. What will we find when we get there? We have some good ideas. We will test those ideas. Come and learn about this rousing mission!