Could Jupiter’s small, icy moon Europa have all the ingredients needed for life as we know it? That is what scientists are hoping to figure out with NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. Europa is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter (about 1,940 miles in diameter), yet it has captured the imagination of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.
What makes Europa particularly fascinating is its icy surface, beneath which lies what scientists believe is a vast, global ocean of liquid water. This ocean is believed to contain more than twice the amount of water found on Earth, which is why it is considered one of the most promising places in our solar system where we might find conditions that could support life. Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to understand the small moon’s composition, characterize its geology, and determine the nature of the ice shell and what lies in the ocean beneath.
“Europa's environment is a captivating blend of extremes that presents a unique landscape marked by chaotic terrain, under the influence of Jupiter's intense radiation. The mission provides humanity a unique opportunity to gain insights into the potential for life in one of the most intriguing corners, and harshest environments, in our solar system,” said Steve McDonald, Moog Engineering Manager.
The Mission
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission launched October 14, 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It won’t go directly to Jupiter. Instead, it will travel 1.8 billion miles past Mars, then back to Earth, and then on to Jupiter before arriving in 2030 to begin its science mission.
Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform around 50 close flybys of the moon, scanning nearly the entire celestial body, gathering detailed measurements to investigate whether there could be conditions suitable for life. At its closest, the spacecraft will fly as low as 16 miles above the moon’s surface.
The Spacecraft
Moog DST-13E Bipropellant engine
Moog bipropellant engines on Europa Clipper
The Europa Clipper spacecraft is a marvel of modern engineering. It is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission. It is 16 feet tall and, with the solar arrays deployed, more than 100 feet wide. That is large enough to space an entire basketball court! Since Jupiter is five times as far from the Sun as Earth, the spacecraft needs massive solar arrays to collect enough power to complete its mission.
One of the most critical elements for this ten-year journey is Europa Clipper’s propulsion system. Moog bipropellant rocket engines ensure the spacecraft stays on course, inserts into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and conducts the dozens of Europa flybys.
“These bipropellant engines will facilitate orientation and flight of the spacecraft, including an unprecedented single burn of more than six hours in order to insert the spacecraft into Jupiter’s orbit. Moog worked with NASA to qualify this engine to have this critical capability,” said McDonald.
Moog also has four high pressure latch valves which help provide critical fuel and oxidizer isolation ability and flow control to the propulsion subsystem.
Steve McDonald, Moog Engineering Manager
Jenna Curry, Moog Business Analyst
“The design was produced for the first time for use on the Clipper Project. It was a challenge to ensure helium leak tight performance under high pressure with significant constraints on the allowed materials due to the compatibility requirements and expected radiation environment,” said Jenna Curry, who is currently a Moog Business Analyst and was the Senior Product Engineer for the Europa High Pressure Latch Valve.
The spacecraft and its components will also have to withstand the relentless radiation from Jupiter. Other than the sun, it is the most intense radiation environment in our solar system. The Moog team modified our heritage bipropellant thruster design to meet the rigorous demands of the flight around Europa. Special radiation-resistant material was used in the valves, and several risk reduction measures and comprehensive qualification programs were completed to validate this unique engine configuration to ensure it could perform in the punishing radiation environment around Jupiter
“Working the Europa Clipper High Pressure Latch Valve Project was the most challenging and rewarding project I’ve worked during my thirteen years at Moog. I am thrilled to see this spacecraft begin its long journey and impressive scientific mission,” said Curry.
The Science
To conduct this detailed scientific survey of Jupiter’s Europa moon, the mission requires the most sophisticated suite of science instruments. All nine instruments will operate during every flyby to give scientists the data they need to complete a full picture of the moon, its icy surface, and what lies beneath.
An ice-penetrating radar, magnetometer, and plasma instrument will search for subsurface water. A thermal instrument will survey Europa's frozen surface in search of recent eruptions of warmer water at or near the surface. Additional instruments will characterize the composition of gases and tiny particles in the moon's atmosphere.
Cameras and spectrometers will produce high-resolution images of Europa's surface to better understand its composition. The Europa Imaging System, or EIS (aptly pronounced “ice”) has a wide-angle camera (WAC) to see large portions of the surface and a narrow-angle camera (NAC) that will offer a zoomed-in view with more pixels for a clearer view. These cameras will be able to rotate to take the best photos, thanks to several Moog Type 3 Rotary Actuators incorporated into a biaxial gimbal. The Type 3 actuator is one of our more popular designs, with hundreds of units delivered and successfully operating in space, but Europa is a unique mission and environment.
Type 3 rotary actuator
Type 3 rotary actuator
Ruben Nalbandian, Moog Business Unit Engineering Manager
“The main challenge for this mission was to design a custom motor that could provide adequately high unpowered holding torque, considerable operating torque at high-speed operation to satisfy imaging during fast fly-bys of Europa. The motor had to be a drop-in replacement for the standard heritage motor in Type 3 rotary actuator,” said Ruben Nalbandian, Moog Business Unit Engineering Manager.
Nalbandian added, “I was responsible for the design of the motor which functioned flawlessly for its intended mission performance. Europa Clipper is planned to reach Jupiter in 2030 and start relaying wonderful imagery of Jupiter and Europa with its NAC and WAC gimbals operated by Moog Type 3 actuators. That is going to be immensely gratifying for me to see the results of my contribution to this important scientific endeavor.”
The actuators for this mission were custom designed to withstand Jupiter’s intense radiation environment.
“Environmental testing of unique actuators often comes with unique challenges. Team members at Moog Chatsworth, California, along with our partners, took these challenges head on to ensure flawless operation of our Moog Type-3 actuators,” said Moog Senior Laboratory Technician, Jamie Bensadoun.
Jamie Bensadoun, Moog Senior Laboratory Technician at Moog’s Mechanisms facility in Chatsworth, CA.
To ensure success, these actuators were tested to a radiation twice of what they will experience on this mission. “Jupiter’s Ice encrusted moon Europa has sparked the imagination of so many. Since Voyager’s glimpse of Europa in 1979, and Galileo’s incredible images in 1995, this striated frozen world has inspired scientists across the globe. This mission of exploration is so much bigger than just me. Even so, it is thrilling to know that I’ve had a hand in such an endeavor. It gives me great pride and satisfaction to contribute, along with so many from varying disciplines,” said Bensadoun.
Interested in speaking with Moog? Contact us at space@moog.com