Highlights The Juno Mission to Jupiter meets planetary protection requirements. Analyses include bioburden reduction due to Jovian environments. Analysis of hypothetical impacts shows a high likelihood of sterilization.
Abstract NASA’s Juno mission launched in 2011 and will explore Jupiter and its near environment starting in 2016. Planetary protection requirements for avoiding the contamination of Europa have been taken into account in the Juno mission design. In particular Juno’s polar orbit, which enables scientific investigations of parts of Jupiter’s environment never before visited, also greatly assist avoiding close flybys of Europa and the other Galilean satellites. The science mission is designed to conclude with a deorbit burn that disposes of the spacecraft in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Compliance with planetary protection requirements is verified through a set of analyses including analysis of initial bioburden, analysis of the effect of bioburden reduction due to the space and Jovian radiation environments, probabilistic risk assessment of successful deorbit, Monte-Carlo orbit propagation, and bioburden reduction in the event of impact with an icy body.
Europa planetary protection for Juno Jupiter Orbiter
Advances in Space Research ; 52 , 3 ; 547-568
2013-03-03
22 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Europa planetary protection for Juno Jupiter Orbiter
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