A small spacecraft to probe the interior of the jovian moon europa: europa tomography probe (etp) system design

We propose the system design of a small orbiter of the Jovian moon Europa (Europa Tomography Probe, ETP in short) aimed at unveiling its interior structure. ETP is conceived as a piggyback probe of a larger spacecraft to the Jovian system (such as Europa Clipper). Its payload comprises only a magnetometer and transponder. The former will be used to measure the time-varying, induction magnetic field of the moon at different orbital and rotational frequencies, a measurement inaccessible to a flyby spacecraft. An Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) between ETP and the main spacecraft, enabled by the on-board transponder, will be used to accurately determine Europa's gravity field, rotational state and tidal deformation. By combining magnetic and gravity field measurements, ETP could characterize the interior structure of Europa with an accuracy only attainable by a low-altitude orbiter, thus constraining the thickness and conductivity of the subsurface ocean. Following the announcement that a 250-300-kg mass allowance was available on the upcoming NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft, we propose ETP's mission and spacecraft design assuming Clipper's nominal trajectory as a baseline. The concept can be adapted to a class of missions to the Jovian and Saturnian systems based upon a mother-daughter spacecraft system. The spacecraft design has been pursued under the philosophy of determining the minimum required total mass and volume that allows to meet the scientific requirements, rather than finding out what science return could be obtained with pre-assigned system constraints. Since ETP shall autonomously reach its final orbit, the propulsion system has been one of the primary focuses. The radiation analysis has also been essential because the shielding structure affects both the mission duration and the mass budget. We show that the ETP concept could be, indeed, technically feasible with an overall system mass budget just above 250 kg, thus providing a valuable yet affordable augmentation to a larger flyby mission to Europa.