Kate Craft

The Automated Lander Planetary Analog Composition Analyzer (ALPACA) is a chemical and organic composition analyzer well suited for future landed missions to ocean worlds such as Enceladus, Europa, and Titan. ALPACA utilizes the Biosignature Preparation for Ocean Worlds (BioPOW) instrument for sample enrichment (concentrating the sample) and purification to enable detections in challenging ocean world environments [1]. The BioPOW system performs the following operations: 1) melt an icy sample; 2) purify amino acids, and other organics, from salts and inorganic compounds [2]; 3) concentrate and derivatize targeted amino acids for downstream GC analyses (Figure 1). The downstream GC analyses are accomplished with a micro-electromechanical system gas chromatograph (μ-GC) [3–5]. The ALPACA instrument is being developed under NASA’s Planetary Science and Technology Through Analog Research (PSTAR) program (NASA Grant 80NSSC25K7720). The automated, on-chip BioPOW system receives an icy sample in a sample cup that was specifically designed to interface with the CADMES arm described in NASA’s ICEE-2 program. Sample cup testing demonstrated repeatability and reliability for melting icy samples with steady heating to 100 °C in ~350 seconds using embedded nichrome wire. Once melted, fluid is transferred to the cation exchange module (ion exchange chromatography column) that is referred to as the Wet Lab of the BioPOW system. For purification and concentration of amino acids, the following steps are performed: 1) Use 10 mM hydrochloric acid (HCl) to de-protonate the resin (cation exchange beads) and provide an overall negative charge; 2) acidified sample (4OH) elutes the amino acids from the resin for subsequent derivatization and analysis (Figure 2). The eluted amino acids are moved to the second portion of the BioPOW Wet Lab, the derivatization chamber. The eluted sample is dried (60 °C until powder) and derivatized with MTBSTFA (90 °C for 1 hour) using the custom-built derivatization chamber. The derivatization chamber has three ports, one for inserting the sample and MTBSTFA, another for carrier gas, and one output which is used for water-vapor exhaust during the drying stage and for delivering the derivatized amino acid vapor to the μ-GC. Metal microfluidic tubing connects the chamber to input sources and output for the high temperatures required during derivatization. Minco® heater elements wrapped around the chamber provide the heat source. The μ-GC utilizes silicon chip-based technology for miniaturization and consists of three main parts: 1) preconcentrator; 2) separation column; and 3) detectors. The preconcentrator is made from deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon wafers for μ-channel ports for carbon molecular sieve (bead) loading, sample loading (preconcentration), carrier gas and vacuum pump connection, and outlet connection to the μ-GC separation column (μ-column). The molecular sieve material is used for the trapping and preconcentration of analytes with different molecular sieves targeting different analyte sizes (shown as the number of carbons in the molecule in Figure 3). The preconcentrators can employ a single sieve or multiple-sieve configurations (4-sieve configuration in Figure 3). A vacuum pump is used to pull samples across the preconcentrator where target analytes are trapped and accumulate with increased sampling time. Once sampling is completed, the vacuum pump is turned off and μ-valves switch to allow the flow of carrier gas (He) through the preconcentrator and to the μ-column. The preconcentrator is resistively heated to desorb the trapped analytes for separation on the μ-column. The μ-column is made of square spiral channels from DRIE silicon wafers of dimensions 3 x 3 cm or 3 x 6 cm for 5- and 10-m effective column length, respectively. The square spiral channels are coated with a variety of liquid stationary phases to target different analyte selectivity within each μ-column. Finally, at the exit of the μ-column, the separated analytes pass through high sensitivity μ-detectors for detection. The μ-detectors employed are a micro-photoionization detector (μ-PID) sensitive to most organics and a micro-helium dielectric barrier discharge photoionization detector (μ-HD-PID) sensitive to fixed gases (minus helium and neon). The MEMS technology significantly decreases the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of the device thereby enabling multiple μ-GCs in a single enclosure, referred to as a μ-GC suite (Figure 4) [5]. In this presentation, we focus on ALPACA hardware development and the recent advances that have been made to impact future landed missions.References[1] K.A. Duval, et al., Biosignature preparation for ocean worlds ( BioPOW ) instrument prototype, (2023) 2023–2032. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2023.1244682.[2] T. Van Volkenburg, et al., Microfluidic Chromatography for Enhanced Amino Acid Detection at Ocean Worlds, Astrobiology. 22 (2022) 1116–1128. https://doi.org/10.1089/AST.2021.0182/SUPPL_FILE/SUPP_DATA.PDF.[3] R.C. Blase, et al., Experimental Coupling of a MEMS Gas Chromatograph and a Mass Spectrometer for Organic Analysis in Space Environments, ACS Earth Sp. Chem. 4 (2020) 1718–1729. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00131.[4] R.C. Blase, et al., MEMS GC Column Performance for Analyzing Organics and Biological Molecules for Future Landed Planetary Missions, Front. Astron. Sp. Sci. 9 (2022) 828103 (1–19). https://doi.org/10.3389/FSPAS.2022.828103.[5] R. Blase, et al., Biosignature detection from amino acid enantiomers with portable GC systems, Adv. Devices Instrum. (2024) 11–23. https://doi.org/10.34133/adi.0049. Figure 1. BioPOW a) sample processing scheme, consisting of the B) sample cup, 1cm scale bar, C) wet lab manifold with cation exchange cartridge, 4 cm scale bar and D)...

The NASA Europa Clipper mission will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa via multiple flybys in the early 2030s (Pappalardo et al., 2024). The ocean world Europa is one of the most promising locations to search for life elsewhere in the Solar System and thus, Europa Clipper’s main goal is to characterize Europa’s habitability (Vance et al., 2024).In the future, a follow-on landed mission may possibly explore Europa from its surface (Phillips et al., in revision). Based on current technology, terrain relative navigation (TRN) would be used to safely navigate to a landing site. Here we show that 12 of the 49 currently designed Europa Clipper flybys contain at least one portion where the fundamental requirements for TRN are fulfilled: - daytime illumination with incidence angle ~30° to 60°; - and 0.5 to 1 meter pixel scales, which for acquisition by the EIS instrument means that the altitude is 50–100 km.We use the term ‘reconable’ to refer to these 12 flybys. Using data from the Galileo mission, we study what is currently known about these reconable areas, and rank them based on scientific criteria. Three of the reconable flybys have exceptional scientific interest, and therefore receive the highest rank 1*, where * denotes a reconable flyby. Rank 1* flybys are E5, E19 and E22. The remaining nine reconable flybys are a lower rank of 2*, where * also denotes a reconable flyby.We also identify and rank supporting flybys, which are not reconable in themselves but provide supporting data that can be used to further characterize the reconable areas. Rank 2 supporting flybys provide particularly insightful and/or necessary contextual data. Rank 3 are default supporting flybys. The current rankings reflect our present-day knowledge, and are highly likely to change with Europa Clipper’s in-depth study of the moon’s geological, geochemical and geophysical characteristics.Our work demonstrates the process that can be used by the Europa Clipper team to assess reconable areas. We conclude that there are areas on Europa with particular scientific interest that Europa Clipper will be able to fully characterize for potential future in-situ exploration.

Scheduled to launch in October 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper will set out on a journey to explore the habitability of Jupiter’s icy ocean world Europa. After a 5.5 yr cruise that includes gravity assists at Mars and Earth, the spacecraft will enter orbit around Jupiter and will perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa over a four-year period. To explore Europa as an integrated system and achieve a complete picture of its habitability, the Europa Clipper mission has three main science objectives to characterize: (1) the ice shell and ocean including their heterogeneity, properties, and surface–ice–ocean exchange; (2) Europa’s composition including any non-ice materials on the surface and in the atmosphere, and any carbon-containing compounds; and (3) Europa’s geology including surface features and localities of high science interest. Additionally, several cross-cutting science topics will be investigated through searching for any current or recent activity in the form of thermal anomalies and plumes, performing geodetic and radiation measurements, and assessing high-resolution, co-located observations at select sites to provide reconnaissance for a potential future landed mission. These science objectives will be accomplished using a highly capable suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments. The remote sensing payload consists of the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS), the Europa Imaging System (EIS) consisting of a wide and a narrow angle camera (WAC, NAC), the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE), the Europa Thermal Imaging System (E-THEMIS), and the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON). The in-situ instruments are the Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM), the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA), and the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX). Gravity and radio science will be obtained using the spacecraft's telecommunication system, and valuable scientific data will be acquired by the spacecraft’s radiation monitoring system.Assembly, test, and launch operations (ATLO) of the Europa Clipper spacecraft are progressing well, and the flight system integration and environmental testing has been completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Currently, the flight system is undergoing operations testing, and in May 2024, the spacecraft will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. There, the remaining integration activities will occur for the solar array and REASON antennas followed by final flight system tests. The launch period begins on 10 October 2024. To provide details on the mission’s instruments and planned investigations, the Europa Clipper science team is publishing manuscripts in a special issue of Space Science Reviews, and the team continues to work towards optimizing science return through preparation of the mission’s Strategic Science Planning Guide. As well, collaborative science opportunities with ESA’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, which will overlap in its tour period at Jupiter and make observations of Europa, are being discussed informally among the science teams. Onward to Europa!

Evidence for the beneficial role of impacts in the creation of urable or habitable environments on Earth prompts the question of whether meteorite impacts could play a similar role at other potentially urable/habitable worlds like Enceladus, Europa, and Titan. In this work, we demonstrate that to first order, impact conditions on these worlds are likely to have been consistent with the survival of organic compounds and/or sufficient for promoting synthesis in impact melt. We also calculate melt production and freezing times for crater sizes found at Enceladus, Europa, and Titan and find that even the smallest craters at these worlds offer the potential to study the evolution of chemical pathways within impact melt. These first-order calculations point to a critical need to investigate these processes at higher fidelity with lab experiments, sophisticated thermodynamic and chemical modeling, and, eventually, in situ investigations by missions.

Introduction: In October 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper will launch on a journey to explore the habitability of Jupiter’s moon Europa. At the beginning of the next decade, the spacecraft will orbit Jupiter, flying by Europa nearly 50 times over a four-year period to: (1) Characterize the ice shell and any subsurface water, including their heterogeneity, ocean properties, and the nature of surface-ice- exchange; (2) understand the habitability of Europa’s ocean through composition and chemistry; and (3) understand the formation of surface features, including sites of recent or current activity, and characterize high science interest localities. In addition, the search for current activity cross-cuts these three principal science objectives.Flight System: The Flight System (Figure 1) comprises the Propulsion Module, which provides the thermally-controlled spacecraft structure, propulsion subsystem, and solar array (not shown); the Avionics Module, which enables spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control operations, provides power conditioning and computer resources which stores and prioritizes science data for downlink; the Radio-Frequency (RF) Module, which provides telemetry uplink and science data downlink capabilities; and a highly capable suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments (Figure 2) to achieve the science objectives of the mission. The spacecraft is solar-powered with large batteries for use during the flyby and playback periods, uses reaction wheels for precise attitude control, and has a bipropellant system for propulsion and coarse attitude control. The Avionics Module consists of a radiation vault, nadir platform, and secondary structures. The module supports multiple instruments, components, and elements from other modules. The vault provides radiation protection and thermal interface control to internal electronics, and mounting support for various external instruments and spacecraft components. The telecom system includes a high-gain antenna for communication at X- or Ka-band, a co-aligned medium-gain, three low-gain antennas, and three fan beam antennas.Figure 1: Europa Clipper flight systemInstrumentation: The remote sensing payload consists of the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS), the Europa Imaging System (EIS), the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE), the Europa Thermal Imaging System (E-THEMIS), and the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON). The in-situ instruments are the Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM), the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA), and the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX). Gravity and radio science will be achieved using the spacecraft’s telecommunication system, and valuable scientific data will be acquired by the spacecraft’s radiation monitoring system. All instruments are body mounted, and the spacecraft points the remote sensing instruments toward nadir during most of the flybys, while the in-situ instruments face the ram direction at closest approach. The MISE instrument has an internal mirror that further allows it to scan along-track to compensate for target motion when close to Europa. The narrow-angle camera has a two-axis gimbal to allow for acquisition of stereo coverage and to extend its field of regard to off-nadir targets.Figure 2: Europa Clipper suite of instrumentsMission Status: The assembly, testing, and launch operations (ATLO) phase is in its final stage. System-level testing has been completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the flight system has been integrated with the solar array at Kennedy Space Center. The Operations and Mission Readiness Reviews have been successfully completed, and the Europa Clipper will be encapsulated in the Falcon 9 Heavy rocket in early October. The launch period begins on 10 October 2024, and once lifted off, the Europa Clipper will be cruising to the Jupiter System with gravity assists by Mars followed by Earth on the way. Go Europa Clipper!

The NASA Europa Clipper mission [1] will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa via multiple flybys in the early 2030s. The ocean world Europa is one of the most promising locations to search for life elsewhere in the Solar System [2, 3, 4, 5] and thus, Europa Clipper’s main goal is to characterize Europa’s habitability. In the future, a follow-on landed mission may possibly explore Europa from its surface. In the Europa Clipper science team, the work of the Reconnaissance Focus Group has been to assess the trajectory for opportunities [6]. Here we show that 12 of the 49 currently planned flybys for the prime mission of Europa Clipper [7] survey at least one area where the fundamental requirements for terrain relative navigation (TRN) are fulfilled. We use the term ‘reconable’ to refer to these 12 flybys.What is a “reconable” flyby? A ‘reconable’ flyby contains at least one section where the following fundamental (i.e., architecture independent) requirements for terrain relative navigation (TRN) are fulfilled, as based on current technology [8, 9]:Time of day: the data must be taken during the Europan day (i.e. lit by sunlight) Incidence angle of data: 30°- 60° for TRN process to be successful, 20°- 30° may be usable in some instances, but there is a rapid degradation above 60°. Altitude: 50-100 km for sufficiently high spatial resolution data with minimal smearing. 100-105 km altitude may be useable in some instances. Thus, only 12 of the 49 flybys are reconable.Fig. 1: Global map of Europa with the footprint of all 49 flybys currently planned for Europa Clipper’s prime mission. Reconable and supporting flybys are in solid colored lines. Most promising flybysUsing data from the Galileo mission, we study what is currently known about our reconable areas, and rank these flybys based on scientific criteria. The current rankings reflect our present-day knowledge and are highly likely to change with Europa Clipper’s in-depth study of the moon’s geological, geochemical and geophysical characteristics. Three of them have exceptional scientific interest. They all show signs of recent activity and have been covered significantly enough by past missions to make a comprehensive assessment of their potential. Some highlights include Fig. 2: Ground track for planned E5 flyby. Reconable area highlighted by white box. Fig. 3: Ground track for planned E19 flyby. Reconable area highlighted by white box. Fig. 4: Ground track for planned E22 flyby. Reconable area highlighted in white box. ConclusionReconable flybys are relatively rare and important in the prime mission of Europa Clipper: only 12 out of 49. It’s important to recognize that this current assessment is limited by the data available. Rankings will probably evolve as the data from Europa Clipper, and particularly from the Europa Imaging System (EIS) [10] gets processed. This work demonstrates the process that can be used by the Europa Clipper team to assess potential landing sites. Great potential landing sites do exist: there are places on Europa’s surface that are both particularly scientifically interesting (e.g., rank 1* reconable flybys) AND where we will collect data that is suitable for enabling safe and successful landing based on current technologies.The results of this work have been shared with the Geology Working Group (Pappalardo et al. 2024 (under review), Daubar et al. 2024) / the broader science team of Europa Clipper, and will be integrated in the science input provided for observation planning. AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by the Europa Clipper Project. The research described in this manuscript was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Our team would also like to acknowledge the work from the Galileo instrumental teams and the PDS imaging node for making this data publicly available.References[1] Howell & Pappalardo, Nature Comm, 2020.[2] Pappalardo et al. JGR: Planets, 1999.[3] Carr et al. Nature 1998.[4] Vance et al. JGR: Planets, 2018.[5] Cockrell et al. Astrobiology, 2016.[6] Phillips et al. PSJ, in revision.[7] Pappalardo et al. SSR, accepted.[8] Johnson et al. AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, 2015.[9] Neleseen et al. IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2019.[10] Turtle et al. SSR under review.

Introduction: Jupiter’s moon Europa is a prime target in our exploration of potentially habitable worlds beyond Earth, and of ocean worlds in the outer solar system. The exploration of Europa presents an important target for both astrobiology and comparative oceanography, i.e., the opportunity to study liquid water oceans as a planetary process. Europa’s icy shell also offers the opportunity to study tectonics and geologic cycles across a range of mechanisms (e.g., Earth’s cooling versus Europa’s tidal dissipation) and compositions (silicate in the case of the Earth, versus ice in the case of Europa). Europa is a scientifically important and strategic target for both planetary science and astrobiology.Critically, Europa’s subsurface ocean has likely existed for much of the history of the solar system, potentially providing a persistent, stable environment in which a second, independent origin of life may have arisen. Observations and models indicate that the ocean is likely in contact with a rocky, silicate seafloor, and the ice shell may have tectonic activity that could allow reductant-oxidant cycling. This scenario could lead to an ocean rich in the elements and energy needed for the emergence of life, and for potentially sustaining life through time. The persistence of Europa’s ocean means that life could be alive there today – i.e., signs of extant life could be found within the ice and ocean of Europa. The discovery of signs of extant life is critical if we are to understand biology as a universal process: Does it contain DNA or does it function on some other large biomolecules for information storage, replication, and repair? Are there many separate ‘trees of life’ within our solar system, or is the tree of life on Earth the only one? The search for past life on worlds like Mars is very important, but the search for extant life is how we will truly revolutionize biology (if life exists beyond Earth).Figure 1. Science goals and objectives of the Europa Lander mission concept. Within each Goal are the high level Objectives, represented as a “fan” across each Goal.The high-level science goals of the Europa Lander Mission Concept are:Search for evidence of biosignatures on Europa. Assess the habitability of Europa via in situ techniques uniquely available to a lander. Characterize surface and subsurface properties at the scale of the lander to support future exploration. These goals are achieved by employing a lander on the surface that collects and processes a minimum of three separate samples, each of at least seven cubic centimeter in volume, and acquired from a depth of at least 10 cm.Overview of Mission Concept: Here we provide an overview of significant milestones, developments, and technology advancements that have been made, or are ongoing, to retire science, technology, cost, and schedule risks associated with the mission concept.The mission concept achieves high value science without requiring an excessive number of engineering ‘miracles’; this mission aims to be the right ‘first’ mission to the surface of Europa and balances technical risk with science return and cost. The technology and instrumentation investments made to date (which exceed $300M) could enable a new era of planetary exploration. Many of the technologies that have, or are, being developed for the Europa Lander Mission Concept can be utilized for landing on other ocean The Europa Lander builds on the investment in Europa Clipper, using data from that mission for landing site There would be at least five years of time between the end of Clipper’s prime mission and the landing site selection date. Importantly, data from Clipper would be unlikely to dramatically change our approach to de-orbit, descent, and landing (DDL). The mission concept team examined a variety of mechanical configurations and concluded that even after the acquisition of the Clipper data, the DDL and mechanical architectures would not significantly change. Uncertainty about parameters such as porosity and structure at the sub-meter scale would still require the intelligent landing system, with terrain relative navigation and hazard avoidance. Furthermore, the lander would still need to employ the ‘snowshoe belly pan’ and ‘grasshopper’ adaptive stabilizer legs to accommodate soft and variable surfaces at the sub-meter scale. The Lander concept uses primary batteries and could survive for many weeks to >60 days on the surface, depending on sampling and idle power usage The choice of primary batteries was, in part, to save on cost and complexity. A longer-lived mission concept with a radioisotope power system was studied, but planetary protection, thermal management, and mass were found to contribute to increasing cost and technical risk.

Overview NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission [1] has as its top-level science goal: Explore Europa to Investigate its Habitability. Scheduled for launch in the next several years, the mission is now in Phase C, with construction begun on the highly capable payload of in situ and remote-sensing instruments. The mission will observe Europa’s ice shell and ocean, study its composition, investigate its geology, and search for and characterize any current activity. Accommodations for the payload are now being completed. Major milestones from the past year include integration of the Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM) and revisions to the VHF antennas for the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) ice-penetrating radar instrument. Figure 1 (below) shows the current spacecraft configuration, including the revised REASON HF and VHF antennas and the ECM boom. The Europa Clipper science team continues to perform preliminary planning, including evaluation of potential trajectories and their capability to meet science objectives. Trajectories must also stay within tolerances for engineering parameters, including radiation total integrated dose, total time of flight, and fuel consumption. Through Europa Clipper’s Thematic Working Groups and Focus Groups, the science team is also evaluating the production of standard models for different natural phenomena and their potential observable responses, to be shared across investigations. This includes tools to understand and standardize possible ranges of Europa parameters of phenomena, e.g. potential plumes, the radiation environment, ocean and surface composition, and regolith properties. The project abides by a “One Team” philosophy, where science team members are considered members of a single integrated science team, to avoid stovepiping of the science effort. The Europa Clipper Rules of the Road document spells out expected behaviors by science team members, including the expectation of inclusiveness, respect, and fair and equal treatment for all team members. Science Objectives and Instruments Following from the Europa Clipper goal are three Mission Objectives: (1) Characterize the ice shell and any subsurface water, including their heterogeneity, ocean properties, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange; (2) Understand the habitability of Europa's ocean through composition and chemistry; and (3) Understand the formation of surface features, including sites of recent or current activity, and characterize high science interest localities. To address the science requirements of the Europa Clipper mission, a highly capable suite of nine instruments comprise the mission's scientific payload. This payload includes four in situ instruments that measure fields and particles: The Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM), the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA), and the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX). In addition, five remote sensing instruments will observe the wavelength range from the ultraviolet through radio (radar): the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS), the Europa Imaging System (EIS), the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE), the Europa Thermal Imaging System (E-THEMIS), and the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON). In addition, gravity and radio science will be achieved via the spacecraft's telecommunication system. Moreover, valuable scientific data could come from the spacecraft’s planned radiation monitoring system. For more information on these investigations, see [2] and [3]. Mission Plans The instruments for the Europa Clipper mission are now in their critical design phase of development. Working together, the payload will provide data to explore Europa to investigate its habitability. Combined with a mission design that provides more than 50 globally distributed flybys over a period of ~3.5 years, it will be possible to access a diverse and widely distributed set of geologic terrains, providing data to constrain and test geophysical and geochemical models of the ice shell and ocean [2, 3]. The Europa Clipper mission is well on its way towards a launch in the next several years, and the science team, as well as the larger science community, eagerly anticipates the future results. References [1] Howell, S., and R. Pappalardo, Nat Commun. 11, 1311 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15160-9 [2] Senske, D., et al., EPSC, 15-20 September 2019, Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. [3] Korth, H. et al., EPSC, 15-20 September 2019, Geneva, Switzerland, 2019.

Geological investigations planned for the Europa Clipper mission will examine the formation, evolution, and expression of geomorphic structures found on the surface. Understanding geologic features, their formation, and any recent activity are key inputs in constraining Europa’s potential for habitability. In addition to providing information about the moon’s habitability, the geologic study of Europa is compelling in and of itself. Here we provide a high-level, cross-instrument, and cross-discipline overview of the geologic investigations planned within the Europa Clipper mission. Europa’s fascinating collection of ice-focused geology provides an unparalleled opportunity to investigate the dynamics of icy shells, ice-ocean exchange processes, and global-scale tectonic and tidal stresses. We present an overview of what is currently known about the geology of Europa, from global to local scales, highlighting outstanding issues and open questions, and detailing how the Europa Clipper mission will address them. We describe the mission’s strategy for searching for and characterizing current activity in the form of possible active plumes, thermal anomalies, evidence for surface changes, and extremely fresh surface exposures. The complementary and synergistic nature of the data sets from the various instruments and their integration will be key to significantly advancing our understanding of Europa’s geology.

In situ sampling missions to detect biosignatures on ocean worlds requires thorough sample preparation to manage the expected chemical complexity of such environments. Proposed instruments must be capable of automatic liquid sample handling to ensure sensitive and accurate detections of biosignatures, regardless of the initial chemical composition. Herein, we outline the design, build, and test of the integrated Biosignature Preparation for Ocean Worlds (BioPOW) system capable of purifying amino acids from icy samples. This four step modular instrument 1) melts ice samples, 2) purifies amino acids via cation exchange chromatography, 3) concentrates via vacuum drying, and 4) derivatizes amino acids to volatilize and enable detection with downstream analytical instruments. Initial experiments validated the thermal performance of the system by melting ice in the sample cup (1 mL sample, 3°C–28°C, <5 min, 1.4 kJ) and heating the derivatization tank past the concentration temperature (20°C–60°C, 12 min, 3.6 kJ) to the derivatization temperature (60°C–90°C, 25 min, 7.5 kJ). Later experiments investigated important factors for automatic cation exchange using a design of experiments approach, and found that initial salt concentration, sample and eluate flow rates, and water wash volumes all play significant roles in reducing conductivity (1.1 x–6.7 x) while maintaining phenylalanine yields between 31% and 94%. The modules were then integrated into a 12 cm × 20 cm × 20 cm fieldable platform for analysis, and the maturation of this design for future spaceflight is discussed.