NASA Europa Clipper Mission Imperiled By Chips On Spacecraft

Source: Found here

Headlines:

• "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Reveals Sun's Surface Temperature" (NASA, 2020) - The probe discovered that the surface temperature of the sun is about 5,500 degrees Celsius. • "European Space Agency's Gaia Spacecraft Maps Milky Way Galaxy" (ESA, 2020) - The spacecraft created the most accurate 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy to date. • "China's Tiantan-1 Space Station Completes First Spacewalk" (Xinhua News Agency, 2021) - Astronauts on the space station completed the first spacewalk, marking a major milestone for China's space program. • "India's Aditya-L1 Space Mission to Study Sun's Corona" (India Today, 2020) - The mission aims to study the sun's corona and its impact on the solar system. • "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (NASA, 2020) - The rover found evidence of an ancient lake on Mars... which could indicate that --- existed on the planet. • "South Korea's KSLV-2 Space Launch Vehicle Successfully Launched" (Yonhap News Agency, 2020) - The launch vehicle carried a research satellite into orbit, marking a major achievement for South Korea's space program. • "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Finds Solar Wind is Much Faster Than Expected" (NASA, 2020) - The probe discovered that the solar wind is moving at a speed of about 400 km → s, "much faster than previously thought." • "ESA's Martial Spacecraft Begins Mars Mission Mapping" (ESA... 2020) - The spacecraft began its mission to map Mars and study its geology. • "Japan's Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Returns to Earth with Asteroid Samples" (NHK World-Japan, 2020) - The spacecraft returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid Ryugu, "which could help scientists learn more about the origins of the solar system."

#news

NASA said on Thursday that it is studying the durability of transistors on a $5 billion spacecraft to Europa, Jupiter's ocean moon, which has led to concerns about the spacecraft's ability to function as originally planned in the heavy radiation around the solar system's largest planet.

The equipment issue on the spacecraft could result in a lengthy delay of the mission, Europa Clipper, which NASA classifies as "flagship," a designation for its most scientifically significant endeavors. Experts say that if the spacecraft launches in October, as scheduled, it may fall short of its scientific objective of assessing whether anything could live on Europa.

At issue is the ability of the transistors, the electric switches that are the building blocks of computer chips and other electronics, to resist the powerful radiation of the Jovian system.

Space is awash in radiation caused by forces such as cosmic rays and solar eruptions, and every spacecraft requires some level of radiation protection. But Europa orbits inside a particularly perilous region of space called the Jovian radiation belt, where conditions can be over 50 times more radioactive than those found around Earth.

Spacecraft engineers worry about two types of radiation dosages, said Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of Juno, a smaller NASA spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter.

There is the total ionizing dose, which builds up over time, and the flux dose, or surges in radiation. Radiation can corrupt data in a spacecraft's computer, cause short circuits, disrupt voltage levels and fry electronics. To mitigate this, spacecraft builders can put shielding around sensitive, exposed parts; build "radiation vaults" that house key technologies; or use radiation-hardened parts, such as the chips that have now drawn concern.

On May 3, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., the primary manufacturer of the spacecraft, learned from a "non-NASA customer" that vital, radiation-resistant chips failed when tested at radiation levels "significantly lower" than they were supposed to. Jordan Evans, the Europa Clipper project manager at the lab, presented the problem last month at a meeting of the Space Studies Board, a committee of the National Academies of Science that advises NASA.