Vertical Entry Robot for Navigating Europa (VERNE): Mission Concept System Design
Author(s)
Bryson, Frances
Nassif, Mohamed
Szot, Phillip A.
Chivers, Chase J.
Daniel, Nathan L.
Wiley, Bridget E.
Plattner, Taylor
Hanna, Ashley
Tomar, Yashvardhan
Rapoport, Samuel
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Abstract
Several moons in our solar system, including Europa, are believed to host large bodies
of liquid water beneath ice shells. These water bodies are compelling locations in the
search for life beyond Earth, but present significant challenges to access in future
planetary missions. The Vertical Entry Robot for Navigating Europa (VERNE) is a
robotic mission concept to penetrate and operate within Europa’s ice shell and ocean
funded through the Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa
(SESAME) program. SESAME requires a vehicle capable of penetrating a hypothetical
15 km Europan ice shell within three years. VERNE will utilize a thermo-mechanical
drill to descend into the ice while a suite of onboard sensors constrains ice properties
and look for life by analyzing the meltwater. Data will be relayed to a surface lander
via a redundant communication system comprised of a primary optical fiber cable and
secondary wireless acoustic repeaters. Upon nearing the base of the ice shell, VERNE
will release an anchor and then breakthrough into the ocean to profile the upper 100 m
of the ocean and ice interface, a region with high potential for evidence of life. Here we
present the mission success criteria, concept of operation, and vehicle architecture. We
identify key technologies that are currently available as well as those that require
maturation to support future subsurface access of ocean worlds. Throughout this
activity, the design team sought to leverage experience with analog environments on
Earth to generate a concept which demonstrates that such a mission is feasible within
the coming decades.
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Date
2020-11
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Text
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Paper
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