The Future of Space Exploration: Landing on Venus or Europa

PHYSICS

The Future of Space Exploration: Landing on Venus or Europa

Tia Shah

The planet Venus and Jupiter’s moon Europa are both full of possibilities and contain an exciting host of potential discoveries if scientists can find a way to land on their surface. There is no question as to why scientists are striving to reach this goal: both planets have a great possibility of life. Venus contains the gas, phosphine, that could exist due to tiny lifeforms, and Europa is covered in a surface of water ice, a key variable for life to be sustained.[1][2]

In order to uncover the depths of knowledge and peculiar discoveries these celestial bodies have to offer, we must land on them, but this poses the largest challenge. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviets attempted to land spacecraft on Venus, however, these attempts lasted no more than one or two hours. This is a result of the exceptionally high pressures, temperatures and acidic atmosphere that caused the spacecraft to either melt, corrode, or be crushed.[4]However, these spacecraft were still able to provide us with minimal data on Venus before their destruction.Attempts at landing on Europa were equally challenging, with parts of its surface shaped like blades of ice, not to mention the relentless pummelling of radiation from Jupiter.[5] So, what mechanisms have we created so far that could help us on our missions to these satellites? There have been studies and investigations into what would be able to handle the harsh conditions of Venus. Any lander on Venus would need an intelligentnavigation system to pick the best spots to steer. However, they would not be able to use conventional rocket engines, so it has been proposed that the lander could use fans to push itself around. Additionally, a new navigation software would need to be developed since Venus’s dense atmosphere scatters light in a unique way that cannot be comprehended by today’s technology.[3]

Any lander on Europa would use a sky crane technique, similar to the landing of the most recent Mars Perseverance Rover, since Europa has no air to lur the surface or break rockets. Currently, little is known about the surface of this moon, therefore, another mission -the Europa Clipper -has been developed in order to take high resolution images which can help scientists learn more about the ground conditions. In addition, scientists will also simulate ices with different chemical compositions in vacuum chambers, and will drop dummy landers from cranes to test durability in order to ensure a successful landing.[3]

How long until we can reach these bodies in space? Within the next 20 years over 15 landing missions have been proposed, and a few are under development.[6] Though developments for Europa are much further behind, there is still a conceptual mission in development. So, within the next generation’s lifetimes, we may have touched down on a new planet in our solar system, or even a new moon, presenting countless opportunities to grow and develop our understandings of other celestial bodies out there.

Europa, as captured by a passing satellite

Sources:

An artist’s impression of a rover on Venus

PHYSICS

[1] https://www.theverge.com/21438514/venus-future-exploration-spacecraft-flagship-missions-nasaphosphine-detection [2] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/jupiter-moons/europa/in-depth/ [3] https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nasa-venus-europa-landing-terrain-future-spacecraft [4] https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/heres-why-venus-so-unwelcoming [5] https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/8/17948510/jupiter-moon-europa-nasa-clipper-lander-penitentes [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_Venus