NASA and ESA on Jupiter Mission
By TechnoGadge on February 19, 2009 at 1:17 pmUS space agency NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday unveiled their joint plans to send spacecrafts for exploring the outer planets. The two space agencies will send their spacecrafts towards Jupiter and four of it’s moons – Europa, Ganymede, Io and Callisto, in an attempt to understand the formation and evolution of the Jovian system.
Europa
Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered as one of the most habitable bodies in the solar system other than other Earth. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which explored Jupiter and its moons from 1995 to 2003, have already provided enough evidences that there might be an ocean of water under the ice crust of Europa. On the other hand Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is also in target of scientists, as it is the largest moon in the solar system and is believed to have it’s own magnetic field.
The Europa Jupiter System Mission would use two orbiters built by NASA and ESA, which will be launched in 2020. The orbiters would reach the Jovian system in 2026 and spend three years exploring Jupiter and it’s moons. NASA’s probe would investigate whether Europa might harbor life, and ESA’s spacecraft would orbit Ganymede to conduct investigations of the surface and interior of this satellite. After exploring Europa and Ganymede, the spacecrafts will also explore the two other moons, Io and Callisto. NASA and ESA also have plans for a potential mission to visit Saturn’s largest moon Titan and Enceladus, which will be called as the Titan Saturn System Mission.
Category: Space | Tags: ESA, Europa, Ganymede, Jupiter, NASA, Space