Abstract
Enceladus Vent Explorer (EVE) is a robotic mission to enter Enceladus vents. It would send two types of modules: Surface Module (SM) and Descent Module (DM). SM is a lander that lands within a few hundred meters from the entrance of an erupting vent. After a successful landing, it deploys a single or multiple DMs. First, a DM moves to a vent and descends into it. It then performs in-situ science investigations in the vent using miniaturized instruments such as microscopic imager and a microfluidics chip. Finally, it collects samples in the vent and delivers to instruments on SM for detailed analysis. Out trade study concluded that the most robust configuration of the DM would be a limbed robot that climbs down the vent using ice screws. The ice screw is a hollow metal screw used by ice climbers for making a strong anchor on ice walls. DM would rely on a power and communication link provided by SM through a tether. Should EVE be realized, it could enable not only the direct confirmation of extraterrestrial life but also the characterization of it. Comparative study of lives on different worlds would provide clues to the secret of the genesis of life.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
As of the writing of this document, Enceladus is the only icy moon where vents have been directly observed by spacecraft. While recent Hubble observations of Europa have revealed a water vapor plume that could potentially have been vented from the subsurface ocean, its characteristics are poorly known and the existence of vents has not been confirmed. Hence, we set the primary target of our study to be Enceladus.
References
Arakawa, M., Maeno, N.: Mechanical strength of polycrystalline ice under uniaxial. Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 26 (1997)
Asbeck, A.T., Kim, S., McClung, A., Parness, A., Cutkosky, M.R.: Climbing walls with microspines. IEEE Int. Con. Robot. Autom. (2006, January)
Barth, J.L., Dyer, C.S., Stassinopoulos, E.G.: Space, atmospheric, and terrestrial radiation environments. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 50(3), 466–482 (2003)
Beverly, M.J., Stephen, W.: Ice climbing anchor strength: an in-depth analysis. [Online] Available at: http://hmga.gr/storehouse/word-acrobat/Ice%20Climbing%20Anchor%20Strength%20-%20MRA%202009%20-%20Marc%20Beverly.pdf (2009)
Boston, P.: Biovermiculation biopatterns as universal signatures of extant and extinct life. GSA Annual Meeting (2016a)
Boston, P.: Keynote talk, NIAC Symoposium. [Online] Available at: https://livestream.com/viewnow/NIAC2016/videos/133893674 (2016b)
Boston, P.J., Spilde, M.N., Melim, L.A.: Cave microbe-mineral suites: best model for extraterrestrial biosignatures! Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXII (2001)
Burge, S.: The Systems Engineering Tool Box—Push Matrix (PM) (2009). [Online] Available at: https://www.burgehugheswalsh.co.uk/uploaded/1/documents/pugh-matrix-v1.1.pdf
Fugueredo, P., et al.: Locating potential biosignatures on Europa from surface geology observations. Astrobiology 3(4), 851–861 (2003)
Goguen, J., Buratti, B., Brown, R., Clark , R., Nicholson, P., Hedman, M., . . . Blackburn, D.: The temperature and width of an active fissure on Enceladus measured with Cassini VIMS during the 14 April 2012 South Pole flyover. Icarus 226(1), 1128–1137 (2013)
Hand, K.P., et al.: Europa Lander Study 2016 Report: Europa Lander Mission (2017)
Hansen, C.J., et al.: The composition and structure of the Enceladus plume. Geophys. Res. Lett. (2011)
Ingersoll, A.P., Ewald, S.P.: Total particulate mass in Enceladus plumes and mass of Saturn’s E ring inferred from Cassini ISS images. Icarus 216(2), (2011)
Jones, D.S., Lyon, E.H., Macalady, J.L.: Geomicrobiology of biovermiculations from the Frasassi cave system, Italy. J. Cave Karst Stud. 70(2), 78–93 (2008)
Kehl, F., et al.: In-situ liquid extraction and analysis platform for Mars and ocean worlds. In: 3rd International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (2016)
Kite, E.S., Rubin, A.M.: Sustained eruptions on Enceladus explained by turbulent dissipation in tiger stripes. Geophys. Res. Lett. (2016)
Liepmann, H., Roshko, A.: Elements of gasdynamics. Dover Publications (2002)
Lorenz, R.D.: Thermodynamics of Geysers: Application to Titan. Icarus 156(1), 176–183 (2002)
Matson, D.L., Castillo-Rogez, J.C., Davies, A.G., Johnson, T.V.: Enceladus: A hypothesis for bringing both heat and chemicals to the surface. Icarus 221(1), 53–62 (2012)
McKay, C.P.: What is life and how do we search for it in other worlds? PLOS Biol (2004)
Mitchell, K.: Coupled conduit flow and shape in explosive volcanic eruptions. J. Volcanol. Geoth. Res. 136, 223–240 (2005)
Parness, A.: Anchoring foot mechanisms for sampling and mobility in microgravity, 2011. IEEE Int. Con. Robot. Autom. (ICRA), Shanghai (2011)
Parness, A., Frost, M., King, J.P., Thatte, N.: Demonstrations of gravity-independent mobility and drilling on natural rock using microspines. IEEE Int. Con. Robot. Autom. (2012)
Porco, C.C., et al.: Cassini observes the active South Pole of Enceladus. Science 311(5766), 1393–1401 (2006)
Porco, C., DiNino, D., Nimmo, F.: how the Geysers, tidal stresses, and thermal emission across the South polar terrain of Enceladus are related. Astron. J. 148(3), 45 (2014)
Spitale, J.N., et al.: Curtain eruptions from Enceladus’ south-polar terrain. Nature 521, 57–60 (2015)
Waite, J., Magee, B., Brockwell, T., Zolotov, M., Teolis, B., Lewis, W.: Enceladus’ Plume Composition. EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting (2011)
Warner, N.: Personal communication (2017)
Wilcox, B.H., Carlton, J.A., Jenkins, J.M., Porter, F.A.: A Deep Subsurface Ice Probe for Europa, p. 2622. IEEE, Big Sky (2017)
Willis, P.A., Mora, M.F., Creamer, J.S.: Implementation of microchip electrophoresis instrumentation for future spaceflightmissions. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. (2015)
Zimmerman, W., Bonitz, R., Feldman, J.: Cryobot: an Ice Penetrating Robotic Vehicle for Mars and Europa. IEEE Aerospace Conference (2001)
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. We thank Penny Boston, Peter Willis, Morgan Cable, Florian Kehl, Matt Heverly, Noah Warner, Steve Sell, and Sabrina Feldman for valuable inputs. The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content of this study represents pre-decisional information to be used for planning and discussion purposes only.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ono, M. et al. (2018). Enceladus Vent Explorer Concept. In: Badescu, V., Zacny, K. (eds) Outer Solar System. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73845-1_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73845-1_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73844-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73845-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)