Many planetary scientists believe that Europe is the best way to find evidence of alien life in our own backyard. Although it is a large backyard, and the planned Europa Clipper mission requires a powerful rocket to reach the Jovian moon. Congress had earlier demanded that this mission be launched on the massively delayed space launch system (SLS), but the most recent NASA budget loosened the agency’s hands.
Europa Clipper is an ambitious long-term robotic mission that aims to study Europe more closely through multiple orbital planes. NASA hopes to launch the spacecraft in 2024 and send it on a six-year journey to Jupiter. Once there, the spacecraft will be floating along Europe for at least four years to scan its entire surface. The probe will also have instruments to characterize the alleged subterranean ocean beneath the cracked ice.
The ongoing issues that completed the SLS rocket added uncertainty to the Europe Clipper timeline, and NASA could not explore alternatives. This restriction is due to trade in Congress – a former U.S. representative from Texas used money for the Clipper mission, and he got the Senate from Republican Richard Shelby by including the SLS mandate. Shelby’s home state of Alabama has a large number of aviation contractors who would benefit from the SLS.
NASA has asked Congress to reconsider the mandate, and it seems the message has finally penetrated. In the recently passed budget, the NASA division includes an amendment to the SLS mandate – it is not gone, but NASA has much more room to explore alternative ways to get the Europa Clipper into space. While NASA will still have to use the SLS when it’s ready in 2024, the agency could use something like the SpaceX Falcon Heavy if the SLS is still left behind.
The Space Launch System was sparked by Congress as an alternative to the Constellation program that the Obama administration canceled in 2009. In return, the government received the Commercial Crew program, which recently succeeded in sending astronauts into space. The SLS is expected to be the most powerful rocket in the world when completed, but it is an expensive one-off vehicle with a projected launch cost of more than $ 2 billion. A Falcon Heavy launch would save NASA about $ 1.5 billion. Although, the SLS does have enough power for a direct flight to Jupiter, while the Falcon Heavy launch would involve some planetary slingshot maneuvers.
It’s unclear in which direction NASA is going – the SLS is currently expected to have its first test flight in 2021 with a mission in 2023. If that is the case, NASA could still use the SLS for Europe Clipper. Fortunately, the agency will not be hampered if there are more delays.
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