FLORIDA – NASA targeting the Europa Clipper spacecraft mission to crash into Ganymede, Jupiter’s moon , the largest in the Solar System. NASA said this accident was intentional to end the Europa Clipper mission, which will launch in 2023.
The Europa Clipper mission was originally planned to crash into or be dropped onto the planet Jupiter. However, the plan is likely to be changed by targeting Jupiter’s two Galilean moons, namely Ganymede or Callisto.
“The exhaust target … was Jupiter, but (to) conserve propellant (fuel), more efficiently, if we go into Ganymede or Callisto as exhaust targets,” said Europa Clipper mission project scientist Bob Pappalardo at a meeting with the Outer Planets Assessment Group. (Outer Planets Assessment Group/OPAG) , June 15, 2022, quoted by SINDOnews from the Space.com page, Wednesday (29/6/2022).
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The dump location change is one of several budget-saving measures taken in the latest design of the Europa Clipper timeline. Another goal is to reduce the spacecraft Europa flybys from 53 to 49, unless there is an extension of the mission.
Of the two moons contested, Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, is a prime target because of its potential scientific implications. “Targeting Ganymede, instead of Callisto, or, for that matter, Jupiter, has the added benefit of synergistic science potential with JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer),” Pappalardo said.
He was referring to the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2023. The mission will study all three of Jupiter’s Galilean icy moons, with Ganymede as its primary target.
“If the JUICE mission was still in orbit of Ganymede at the time Clipper Europa was dumped, there is potential for the JUICE instrument to see the impact and study Ganymede’s nature of the collision,” Pappalardo said.
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