A Proposed Discovery Mission
Photo: NASA/JPL [Larger 99K GIF]
Photo: NASA/JPL [Larger 99K GIF] | NOTE: The following information was provided to the Astrobiology Web by the Prinicpal Investigator on this proposed mission with their permission to distribute it freely as we deemed appropriate. This is not an official NASA or JPL website and, as such, the information presented here is in no way endorsed or validated by NASA or JPL. Neither the Astrobiology Web or Reston Communications has any contractual or bidding relationship with NASA, JPL, or any of the proposing parties. We just think these are exciting ideas and wanted to share what we have learned with our readers. |
D. SCIENCE
D.5. Data Analysis and Archiving
The Europa Ice Clipper will generate data in two discrete phases; the encounter and the sample return. Data from the encounter will be collected during the brief period between the release of the impactor and when the spacecraft exits the plume. The encounter data directly addresses the question of an ocean on Europa and will therefore have the most potential in terms of education and outreach activities as well as the most interest for the planning of future missions to further investigate the ocean. Thus its return and timely release is essential. Due to power limitations on the data transmission the return of data will take considerable time. Depending on the availability of 70 m or quad-arrayed 34 m receiving antennas, the entire encounter dataset will require 2 to 6 months to transmit to Earth. To minimize the delay for the return of key data we will prioritize the data return stream. This data will consist of three parts: trajectory data, images, and JEPA data. The trajectory and JEPA data will be sent in their entirety in the first set of data as these represent minor data burdens compared to the images. The closest encounter images of the surface of Europa and the images of the formation and maximal extent of the plume will also be among the first data set to be returned as will highly compressed version of most other images. After receipt at the Earth we propose to have a summary publication and release of calibrated data over the PDS system within 60 days. All initial images and subsequent images as they are received they will be released immediately over the internet. All images will be achieved on the PDS system in final and calibrated form within 90 days of their receipt at Earth.
The returned sample will consist of three parts: the aerogel collector (AC), the particle capture collector (PCC), and the active volatiles collector (AVC). All of these will be transferred to the JSC curatorial facility where 75% of the material of each sample will be made available for outside use as deemed appropriate by NASA. For the analyses outlined in this proposal we will reserve 1/4 of the sample. We anticipate that only 1/8 of the sample will be necessary for our analyses and will maintain the other 1/8 as reserve.