To boldly learn
Europa Clipper scientists descend on campus to discuss the spacecraft's trip to the icy Jupiter moon and inspire the next generation of scientists
It’s a long journey from Earth to the Jupiter moon Europa.
NASA’s Europa Clipper is making a 1.8-billion-mile trek, which will take it through one of the harshest radiation environments in the solar system, to determine whether the reputed ocean beneath the icy moon of Europa harbors conditions necessary to support life.
To get to the Jupiter system by 2030, the spacecraft’s team meets once a year, mostly in person, to discuss the mission, scientific findings, and the state of the instruments onboard. During the last week of August, the University of Oregon Eugene campus was home to the Europa Clipper Project Science Group meeting, offering College of Arts and Sciences students a chance to see a space mission team at work and inspire them to become the next generation of planetary scientists.
The meeting began with the tradition of unveiling a monolith, an homage to the opening scene of “2001: A Space Odyssey” which provides a deliberate ritual that helps bond the team with a shared experience for this long-duration mission, according to Carol Paty, an Earth sciences professor in CAS. But everyone in the room had an experience that brought them together to be on the Europa Clipper mission, Paty said in her opening remarks.
“We were all undergraduates, graduate students, interns, mentees,” Paty said. “Experiences that shaped our individual paths that brought us here, working together on the Europa Clipper mission. Because of this, it feels so meaningful to host the team here on our wonderful campus, a place of student learning and path finding.”
Illustration of Europa Clipper’s journey past Mars and Earth to Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Illustration of Europa Clipper’s journey past Mars and Earth to Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Members of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who are working on the Europa Clipper mission. Photo by Hannah Heckart
Members of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who are working on the Europa Clipper mission. Photo by Hannah Heckart
Professor Carol Paty with the Europa Clipper in the background. Photo courtesy University of Oregon
Professor Carol Paty with the Europa Clipper in the background. Photo courtesy University of Oregon
Paty, a planetary and space physicist, is a member of several research teams behind NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. These research teams helped develop two of the nine scientific instruments the spacecraft is using to confirm and measure what scientists strongly suspect is a vast sea of salty water buried under a sheet of ice enveloping the moon’s surface.
The Europa Clipper Project Science Group meeting at the UO is the first time they’ve met since the mission launched on Oct. 14, 2024. While on campus, the scientists discussed the spacecraft’s maneuvers and instrument calibration and checkout during its trip to the Jupiter system. The group also discussed opportunistic science investigations during the journey and after arriving at Jupiter that leverage the combined capabilities of the Europa Clipper mission and the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission that is also currently en route to the Jovian system.
Having the project science group meeting at the UO allowed some students to attend. In addition to CAS students, interns in the ICONS (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists) had the chance to be part of discussions that relate to their research and explore the various careers related to planetary science.
Erin Morrison, a fifth-year CAS and Clark Honors College undergraduate, traveled with Paty to Florida to watch Europa Clipper’s blast off, experiencing some weather-related issues, as well. But nearly one year later, she said that having members of the Clipper mission on campus was an opportunity to see an update and the team at work.
“Hearing all the updates has been just amazing to see, and also the unique aspect of the Clipper team and how all the instrument teams are so interdisciplinary and work together, and so that's been really cool to see all the different collaborations,” Morrison said. “That's kind of uncommon for other missions.”
Earth sciences doctoral student Paul Regensburger is studying cryovolcanism on the Saturn icy moon Enceladus. Every moon and planet are a part of a big puzzle within the solar system, he said. Learning about the science on Europa, for example, is informative for him as he begins the final year of his doctoral program writing his dissertation.
“Enceladus and Europa are both icy moons, which makes it really wonderful to have this meeting here and to see a lot of the experts in my field come here, be able to talk about active science and the missions that collect data that inform what I do and what's capable in the solar system,” Regensburger said.
University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences doctoral students, undergraduate and ICON (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists) interns pose by the monolith that kicked off the meeting. Photo courtesy Carol Paty
University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences doctoral students, undergraduate and ICON (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists) interns pose by the monolith that kicked off the meeting. Photo courtesy Carol Paty
By the time the Europa Clipper enters the Jupiter system in 2030, it’s possible that the next generation of scientists will be on the mission’s team. Gathering at universities — like the UO — is a way to ensure knowledge is passed down. In other words, it’s a multigenerational mission, said Robert Pappalardo, NASA project scientist for the Europa Clipper mission.
“These are the folks and people like them who are going to be doing the science while we're there,” Pappalardo said, referencing the students in attendance. “It’s so important to train the next generation, have them experience firsthand what we do as a science team, get to know people, get those connections. Maybe they will be involved in the future. Even if they don’t go into planetary science, it’s a great experience to see what happens behind the scenes as a science team works together.”
Victor Meszaros
First-year doctoral student, physics
It’s been great seeing how mission operations are carried out and hearing about the mission in the spacecraft playing out live and what engineers are doing to address ongoing challenges and make sure that the spacecraft's ready to take data and do the science that scientists are hoping to do.
Katelin Donaldson
Fourth-year doctoral student, physics
Sitting in on the meetings with the Clipper instrument teams was a really valuable experience because we could hear how the instruments were tested and about the science being done before Clipper even reaches Jupiter.
Drew Tweedale
Class of 2025, physics and Clark Honors College alum
As a recent graduate, it was cool looking at different career prospects and what the future might hold for me. I think it's interesting to see just how many options there are for interesting projects such as the Europa Clipper and the diversity of backgrounds that come together for this.