| Abstract Scope |
The Jovian moon Europa has a rocky core, a massive global ocean, and an icy surface crust. Using Earth experiences as an analog, anywhere we find liquid water, we find life, making Europa an ideal target to search for biological signatures. Europa Lander is a proposed exploration spacecraft that would land on the moon's icy surface, providing an exceptional platform from which to probe for biosignatures. The surface of Europa poses considerable challenges to such a spacecraft, from self and sampling site contamination to extreme cold and radiation environments. In order to prevent, mitigate, and characterize this contamination we will deploy a series of design implementations, experimental materials analyses in flight like environments, and modeling efforts. A capstone of JPL’s materials testing capabilities includes the recent design and implementation of a materials outgassing test capable of simulating the low temperature and high radiation environment present on Europa’s surface. |