NASA is headed to Jupiter’s fascinating moon Europa this yr. Scientists suspect a deep ocean sloshes beneath the icy world’s crust.

The looming mission, referred to as Europa Clipper, will launch in October, sending a spacecraft the size of a basketball court docket to make round 50 flybys by the distant Jovian moon, assessing whether or not it might harbor situations appropriate for all times. It will not, nonetheless, land on the ice crust.

But the area company is already making ready an formidable follow-up mission, aptly named Europa Lander, that may contact down on the moon’s floor and dig or drill into the ice. “On this mission idea, a spacecraft would land on Europa and accumulate and examine samples from about 4 inches (10 centimeters) beneath the floor, on the lookout for indicators of life,” NASA explains.

The company not too long ago launched photos of the mission’s distinctive touchdown gear, whose legs can take up a heavy spacecraft’s touchdown. Taken collectively, the lander’s metallic appendages make the craft look spider-like. Engineers are making ready to check these legs on a platform that may mimic a touchdown on Europa.

Beneath, you may see NASA employees engaged on this important touchdown gear on the company’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — the identical lab that designed and constructed missions just like the Jupiter-orbiting Juno probe, the legendary Voyager spacecraft, and the Mars Perseverance rover.

An engineer testing the Europa Lander’s touchdown gear.
Credit score: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The Europa Lander testbed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Credit score: NASA / JPL-Caltech

NASA engineers engaged on the craft’s touchdown system.
Credit score: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The craft will want a sturdy touchdown system. It should carry devices that may dig some 4 inches into Europa’s ice. “It is a depth at which the complicated chemistry of supplies from the ocean beneath could be protected against the damaging radiation that exists in area round Jupiter,” NASA defined. It should even have a “miniature laboratory” aboard, which is able to search for indicators of life, amongst different devices.

For now, the Europa Lander technically stays only a “proposal.” However engineers are making ready for its actuality. First, although, the Europa Clipper will scour the intriguing Europan floor. After touring a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of miles away, the orbiting probe will arrive on the icy vacation spot in 2030.