NASA formally approves development of the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft intended to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in search of clues about a potentially habitable sub-surface ocean.
Astronomers have created a thermal map of Jupiter’s moon Europa, showing temperature variations across its surface. But another team has found no signs of hot spots where suspected plumes are located.
After walking away from a previously planned joint mission to Jupiter, NASA has asked the European Space Agency if it can furnish a lander or ice-penetrating probe for a rejuvenated U.S.-led robotic spacecraft to visit Jupiter’s moon Europa.