Instrument Type
Optical

Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa has a frozen ocean with many mysteries, including whether there is prebiotic chemistry, or indications of potential life, underneath the surface. One instrument that can help answer these mysteries is aboard NASA鈥檚 Europa Clipper mission launching in the mid-2020s: MISE. MISE is a near-infrared spectrometer designed to operate within Jupiter鈥檚 punishing radiation environment. It will identify and map the occurrence of organic compounds, salts, acid hydrates, water ice phases, altered silicates, or hot spots 鈥� signs of surface heat that might indicate ongoing geological activity. A surface map can reveal Europa鈥檚 past and present surface and subsurface geologic processes.

APL is building MISE in partnership with NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to see whether this exotic ocean world is habitable and to detect signatures of life in Europa鈥檚 ocean on the icy surface, if present. From MISE measurements, planetary scientists and astrobiologists will relate this moon鈥檚 surface composition to the habitability of its ocean.