US Europa Clipper Radar Successfully Conducts Key Test During Flyby of Mars!
Scientists: "We got everything we hoped for during the flyby."
August 4, the U.S. "Space News" published an article.
The NASA Europa Clipper radar instrument captured echoes of radar signals reflected from Mars, producing this radar image. Figure 1
The pattern reveals topographic features in a 900-kilometer-long area near the equator of Mars, such as impact craters, hills, and steep slopes.
The Europa Clipper successfully tested its ice-penetrating radar system during a close flyby of Mars, proving that the probe is ready to carry out its primary mission:
To peer beneath the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa, look for signs of liquid water under the surface, and even determine whether those oceans have the ingredients necessary for life to form and be sustained.
Set to launch in October 2024, the Europa Clipper is on a 2.9 billion kilometer journey to study Jupiter and its moons.
"We got everything we hoped for from the flyby," said Don Blankenship.
He is a research professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the principal investigator for the REASON instrument.
In a statement, he said, "The goal was to determine the readiness of the radar for the Europa mission, and it did work. Every part of the instrument proved it could perform the tasks we expected."
REASON aims to investigate Europa by sending radio waves that reflect off structures within the underlying ice layer.
The radar uses two pairs of long, thin antennas mounted on the large solar panels of the "Europa Clipper" to transmit and receive signals.
I can't wait for the moment when the Europa Clipper unveils the mysteries of Europa!
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839564792576008/
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