NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in October 2022 to study Jupiter’s moon Europa and assess its potential habitability. The mission will cost $5 billion.
Recently, the mission team discovered an issue with the spacecraft’s transistors, which control electricity flow. Testing showed some transistors may fail sooner than expected in Europa’s intense radiation environment near Jupiter.
Europa Clipper needs to withstand radiation that is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s due to Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and perform flybys of Europa to study it up close.
Transistor testing is ongoing, but initial results show some may not last as long as hoped near Europa due to higher than expected radiation levels. Engineers are evaluating options to maximize their lifespan.
If transistors fail prematurely it could seriously impact the mission. Replacing them now is not possible as key components have already been assembled. NASA will likely proceed with launch while further assessing transistor resilience.
Source: Space
