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Alien Ocean

Could a liquid water ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa have the ingredients to support life? Here's how NASA's mission to Europa would find out.

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Version B of the Europa installment of NASA's solar system poster series.
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Poster showing the surface of Europa.
Jupiter's Moon Europa Poster - Version B
An engineer prepares the ion detector for integration to the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) sensor head at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulde...
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An image showing an engineer prepares the ion detector for integration to the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) sensor head at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder. SUDA is extremely sensitive and will be able to detect amino acids in concentrations as low as one part per million within water ice.
Dust Analyzer Ion Detector
Build your own version of Europa Clipper, learning how each part of the spacecraft fits together as you go. 
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Simple paper model of Europa Clipper available for download.
Europa Clipper Paper Model
Europa Clipper’s SUDA instrument, pictured in the clean room, will collect and analyze particles lifted from Europa’s surface by micrometeorites.
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Europa Clipper’s SUDA instrument, pictured in the clean room, will collect and analyze particles lifted from Europa’s surface by micrometeorites.
SUDA Assembly and Testing
Nitrogen gas is shown being pumped into the sensor head for Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer.
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The SUDA sensor head is shown resting on a table in a clean room, seen on the right-hand side of the image. The sensor head is gold in color and looks slightly like a drum in shape. A clear tube is seen attached to the top, where nitrogen gas is pumped through. To the left of the sensor head, additional equipment is shown resting on the table. Above the table a fan device is shown hanging from the ceiling.
Dry Nitrogen Gas Pumped Through Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer
This artist's rendering shows NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is being developed for a launch sometime in the 2020s. 
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spacecraft over surface of Europa with Jupiter in background
2019 Europa Clipper Spacecraft (Artist's Concept)
These images of the surface of the Jovian moon Europa, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, focus on a "region of interest" on the icy moon.
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Location of the erupting plumes, observed by NASA's Hubble Telescope
Europa's Plumes Located near 'Warm Spot' on Europa
In this activity, students will build a spectrometer using basic materials to observe the light.
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A light bulb is visible on the left and a rainbow of colors is visible on the right.
Classroom Activity: Using Light to Study Planets
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took this image of Europa hanging above Jupiter's cloud tops.
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Black and white image of Europa in space.
New Horizons Spies Europa
This is a composite of two images of Jupiter's icy moon Europa obtained from a range of 2,119 miles (3,410 kilometers) by the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around Jupiter and its first...
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rough terrain on an icy surface
Structurally Complex Surface of Europa
Jupiter's moon Europa has a crust made up of blocks, which are thought to have broken apart and 'rafted' into new positions.
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Color image of Europa showing a close of view of blocky terrain on the surface.
Europa Ice Blocks
Engineers inspect Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
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Engineers inspect Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
Engineers Inspect Ultraviolet Spectrograph
An engineer handles the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) in the clean room at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dry nitrogen gas is continua...
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An image showing an engineer handles the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) in the clean room at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dry nitrogen gas is continually pumped through the instrument during assembly and testing to ensure it remains clean and free of contaminants.
Dust Analyzer in the Clean Room
A 3D model of Gravity/Radio Science, a radar & gravity instrument on Europa Clipper.
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3d model of the Gravity/Radio Science instruments
Gravity/Radio Science
Students use the fundamentals of density to propose a model for the interior structure of Europa.
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Two clear plastic clubs are visible on a table. The cup visible on the left has sediment on the bottom and water above it. The cup visible on the right has coarse rocks on the bottom and water and ice above it.
Discovering Alien Oceans: Density
Engineers prepare Europa Clipper's thermal imager for a series of tests in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory following the instrument's delivery.
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Multiple engineers in white coveralls preparing the thermal imager instrument, located on a table in a clean room, for functional testing. One engineer has their hands on the instrument.
Thermal Imager Delivered to JPL
This image shows two views of the trailing hemisphere of Jupiter's ice-covered satellite, Europa.
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two full-disc views
Natural and False Color Views of Europa
Europa Clipper's propulsion module rotates on a stand in the cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
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video of Europa Clipper's propulsion module rotating in a cleanroom
Europa Clipper Propulsion Module
An engineer integrates an electronics board onto the ion detector for Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer.
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A small electronics device, with electronics visible at the top and gold metal around the bottom, is visible on a table. A person wearing white coveralls and light blue gloves is seen holding the device with both hands. Addition equipment is visible on the table surrounding the device, including a silver wire.
Integrating Electronics onto the Ion Detector for Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer
A comparison of Voyager and Galileo images of Europa.
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Comparison of fuzzy data and sharper images.
Europa: Voyager to Galileo Comparison
In this movie Europa is seen in a cutaway view through two cycles of its 3.5 day orbit about the giant planet Jupiter.
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An illustration in color of Europa's inner core.
Europa Tide Movie
The eleventh Europa Clipper science team meeting.
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A woman stands on stage on the left addressing a group of team scientists on the right, who are seated at multiple tables.
Europa Clipper Science Team Meeting
Engineers inspect Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
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Engineers inspect Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Engineers Inspect Ultraviolet Spectrograph
This colorized image of Europa is a product of clear-filter grayscale data from one orbit of NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
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Reddish bands on Europa
Reddish Bands on Europa
This animation segment shows NASA’s Europa Clipper flying by Mars during its Mars gravity assist. 
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An animations showing the spacecraft flying by Mars during its Mars Gravity Assist, which will further propel the spacecraft toward Jupiter.
Mission Animation: Mars Gravity Assist