Planned Geological Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission

Abstract

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.

Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-Surface (REASON)

“…Voyager and Galileo spacecraft observations of Europa’s surface revealed a rich variety of landforms (see Daubar et al. 2024 , this collection) that suggest active geological processes and surface-interior exchange occurred at some period within the geological history of the shell (<100 Myr). Studies focused on the morphology of these features have prompted a range of hypotheses for processes occurring within the outer ice shell, many of which have involved the presence of shallow subsurface water.…”

“…Callanish and Tyre are the only known multi-ring impact features on Europa (see Daubar et al. 2024 , this collection). Their size and morphology make them the best candidates for complete penetration of the ice shell by impacts (Moore et al.…”