Lynnae Quick-Henderson, a planetary scientist at NASA, discusses the exciting Europa Clipper mission, which aims to uncover the secrets of Jupiter's ocean moon, Europa. She highlights the moon's potential to support life, under its icy surface. The conversation also features Ada Limón, the U.S. Poet Laureate, who shares how she drew inspiration from the mission for her poem 'In Praise of Mystery.' Together, they explore the intersection of science and art, encouraging listeners to reflect on our cosmic connections.
The Europa Clipper mission will assess whether Europa has the necessary conditions to support life by exploring its subsurface ocean and geological activity.
Ada Limón's poem, inspired by the Europa Clipper mission, highlights the profound emotional connection and shared existence between humanity and the universe.
Deep dives
The Europa Clipper Mission
The Europa Clipper mission aims to explore Europa, a moon of Jupiter, which is believed to have an ocean of liquid water beneath its thick icy surface. This moon features unique geological structures known as fractures and furrows, which indicate significant geological activity. Featured in the mission are advanced instruments, including cameras that will capture high-resolution images and perform detailed analyses of the surface and potential plumes erupting from its icy crust. The mission will help answer whether Europa has the right conditions to support life, focusing on the presence of water, energy from tidal forces, and essential chemical building blocks.
The Potential for Life on Europa
Europa is considered one of the most promising places in our solar system to search for signs of life due to its subsurface ocean, which may contain more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. The gravitational pull from Jupiter may create heat within Europa, allowing for chemical reactions that could be conducive to life. The presence of salts and minerals detected mixed within the surface ice suggests that the moon may have chemical processes similar to those on Earth that could foster life. While the Europa Clipper is not equipped to detect life directly, it is tasked with assessing whether the moon has favorable conditions for supporting life, thus continuing humanity's quest to find extraterrestrial organisms.
Art and Science Interwoven
NASA's endeavors are not solely scientific; they also embrace art, as seen with the poem 'In Praise of Mystery' by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon, which is included on the Europa Clipper spacecraft. This integration of poetry highlights the emotional and human connection we have with space exploration and the mysteries of the universe. Limon reflects that the poem serves to convey the awe and curiosity of our existence and how we are all made of water, drawing parallels between Earth and Europa. The mission emphasizes that while scientific facts are vital, the emotional experiences associated with exploration are equally important in understanding our place in the cosmos.
As NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft leaves Earth, it carries a message: we, too, are made of water. Europa—one of Jupiter’s moons—is a top candidate to support life, thanks to its ocean of liquid, salty water capped by a layer of ice. Lynnae Quick-Henderson, a planetary scientist at NASA, explains how Clipper will search Europa for the building blocks of life. The mission is also a message in a bottle, bringing a greeting from one ocean world to another. Hear how Ada Limón, the Poet Laureate of the United States, used NASA’s mission as inspiration for her poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” and why she thinks everyone—even space nerds—should step back and appreciate our connections to the universe and each other.
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