South SFV Today

NASA's Europa Clipper mission has launched, marking the first detailed investigation of Jupiter's moon, Europa. This mission aims to explore the vast ocean believed to exist beneath Europa's icy surface. While not a life detection mission, it seeks to understand the conditions that could support life.

The spacecraft is equipped with an ice-penetrating radar known as Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON). This instrument will investigate the ice for signs of an ocean and analyze its thickness and structure. Additionally, REASON will map Europa's surface and search for water plumes.

Dustin Schroeder, an associate professor of geophysics and electrical engineering at Stanford University, is part of the REASON science team. Reflecting on his involvement in this mission, he shared his excitement: “If you told 18-year-old me I’d be going to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch of a NASA Flagship Mission... I think I’d be beside myself with joy and disbelief.”

Schroeder emphasized that "Europa Clipper is not a life detection mission." Instead, it focuses on understanding Europa's habitability by exploring its ice shell and subsurface ocean. He expressed enthusiasm about potentially discovering habitable water pockets within the ice shell.

His research group specializes in "Radio Glaciology," using ice-penetrating radar systems to study Earth's glaciers and ice sheets. The techniques developed for this terrestrial research have contributed significantly to preparing for the Europa Clipper mission.

Schroeder also noted that insights gained from studying Europa could inform Earth research. For instance, they have applied passive radar sounding techniques developed for Europa Clipper to study Greenland’s Ice Sheet.

He holds positions as an associate professor in Stanford University's School of Sustainability and School of Engineering. Schroeder is also affiliated with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).