Next stop, Europa? Nano subs to get test beneath Antarctic ice in 2026

[Admin]

A European collaboration aims to break through some of the technological barriers to the exploration of icy moons like Jupiter's Europa, using Antarctica as a proving ground.

Next stop, Europa? Nano subs to get test beneath Antarctic ice in 2026 : Read more

 

[newtons_laws]

Interesting experiment. I guess the melting probe to be tested in Antarctica that has to melt its way through 100 meters of ice to reach the water below it will just use an electrical heater with power supplied via cable from a power supply on the surface? However an actual melting probe on Europa has a much more difficult task, as the ice thickness is estimated to be between 15 to 25 km. Also the power source is much more problematic; owing to Europa's distance from the Sun I don't think solar panels of a manageable size on Europa's surface could supply sufficient power, so presumably the melting probe would need to be nuclear powered (either radio-isotope heat generation or a small nuclear reactor).

 

[Machete]

You're correct that the power source will be problematic. Are we really going to introduce nuclear power, and the potential issues related to its failure, into a world that many scientists feel has a reasonable chance for already hosting life?

 

[Classical Motion]

Why not bunker bomb nuke it. Analyze the mist thru sunlight. Quick easy and cheap.

Or propel and guide an asteroid into it. This would take much more time, but we need to learn how to do this. And it's a good place to do so. Perhaps a ring artifact from the system. A sample hole in the cap, with no nuke radiation.

Just hope it's not pressurized......we don't want Europa to deflate.

 

[jkglore]

As the probe melts its way down, will it leave an open shaft above it? On Earth, when the ice is breached, water will rise in the shaft, but on Europa, there will be little atmospheric pressure in the shaft and a geyser will likely form. How would the probe cope with that? Would it latch on to the walls and wait for things to calm down?

 

[sciencecompliance]

You're correct that the power source will be problematic. Are we really going to introduce nuclear power, and the potential issues related to its failure, into a world that many scientists feel has a reasonable chance for already hosting life?

Europa's surface is bathed in intense radiation from Jupiter. Having a small amount of radioisotopes on its surface won't do any harm that isn't currently being done. Putting nuclear material on the sub itself could possibly be an issue, but I don't think this is what they're talking about.

 

[sciencecompliance]

As the probe melts its way down, will it leave an open shaft above it? On Earth, when the ice is breached, water will rise in the shaft, but on Europa, there will be little atmospheric pressure in the shaft and a geyser will likely form. How would the probe cope with that? Would it latch on to the walls and wait for things to calm down?

No, the hole would freeze back over. They'd have to heat the cable upon descent, but once it's down there, it's just a cable embedded in ice with essentially a power strip / antenna dangling in the water below.

 

[sciencecompliance]

Interesting experiment. I guess the melting probe to be tested in Antarctica that has to melt its way through 100 meters of ice to reach the water below it will just use an electrical heater with power supplied via cable from a power supply on the surface? However an actual melting probe on Europa has a much more difficult task, as the ice thickness is estimated to be between 15 to 25 km. Also the power source is much more problematic; owing to Europa's distance from the Sun I don't think solar panels of a manageable size on Europa's surface could supply sufficient power, so presumably the melting probe would need to be nuclear powered (either radio-isotope heat generation or a small nuclear reactor).

Yeah, I wonder if they can get enough power to heat that much cable and the probe over that long of a distance.