NASA announces mission to study Jupiter’s moon Europa

The Europa Clipper mission, announced by NASA, aims to explore Jupiter's moon Europa by 2025. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and conduct 45 flybys of Europa, ranging from 25 to 2700 kilometers above its surface. The mission's goal is to assess the potential for life on Europa by using instruments like ice-penetrating radar to measure the moon's crust thickness and search for subsurface lakes. Additional tools will look for water eruptions and analyze Europa's atmosphere and surface composition.

What is the primary goal of the Europa Clipper mission?

• To explore Mars

• To determine if life could exist on Europa

• To explore Saturn's rings

• To study the Sun

How many flybys will the Europa Clipper spacecraft perform around Europa?

• 10

• 45

• 25

• 60

What is the range of altitudes for the Europa Clipper's flybys?

• 100 to 2000 kilometers

• 10 to 1000 kilometers

• 25 to 2700 kilometers

• 50 to 5000 kilometers

Which instrument will be used to determine the thickness of Europa's outer crust?

• Thermal instrument

• Ice-penetrating radar

• Spectrometer

• Camera

What will the thermal instrument on the Europa Clipper search for?

• Subsurface lakes

• Recent eruptions of warmer water

• Surface composition

• Atmospheric particles