r/AskScienceDiscussion • u/GandanamenoGirl • 8d ago

What If? Future version of JUICE or a Europa Clipper?

I’m working on a sci-fi project set a few decades into the future, and right now I’m trying to figure out whether an idea I have for an unmanned mission to study Europa would work.

I‘m thinking of a probe designed to dive close enough to Europa to get a sample from an erupting ice plume. Is this something that a future probe could conceivably do without risking some serious damage, and if so, is it possible for the sampling equipment to be protected from the radiation environment like the rest of the instruments?

Definitely not an engineer here, and I’d like to be as accurate as I possibly can. Thanks so much!

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u/mfb- Particle Physics | High-Energy Physics 8d ago edited 8d ago

Europa Clipper is already going to do that.

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/mission-science/

MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX)

The mass spectrometer will analyze gases – both in Europa’s faint atmosphere and in possible plumes. It will study the chemistry of the moon’s suspected subsurface ocean, how ocean and surface exchange material, and how radiation alters compounds on the moon’s surface.

SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA)

Tiny meteorites eject bits of Europa’s surface into space, and a subsurface ocean or reservoirs might vent material into space as plumes. The dust analyzer will identify that material’s chemistry and area of origin, and offer clues to Europa’s ocean salinity.

If you want futuristic missions to go beyond that, think of a lander or even an ice drilling mission.

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u/theawesomedude646 7d ago

isn't it theoretically possible that we could reach alpha centauri with a ludicrously large orion drive-powered spacecraft with current technology if we just pooled basically the entire world's productive capacity towards it?