Thursday, May 27, 2021, 16:00
online only
(for the zoom link contact michael.spira@psi.ch, emanuele.bagnaschi@psi.ch or
pulak.banerjee@psi.ch)
Nicolas Altobelli, ESAC
Abstract:
First large-class mission of the European Space Agency `Cosmic Vision'
Program, the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) will launch in 2022 for a
journey to Jupiter and its Icy moons. Since the Galileo and
Cassini/Huygens missions discovered liquid water oceans beneath the icy
crust of the moons Europa, Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus, the focus of
the exploration is now on the so-called `habitability' of the icy moons.
The main goal of the Juice mission is to find out whether the interior
of the icy moons of Jupiter may provide conditions favorable for Life as
we know it. In this presentation, we will first review basic concepts
of astrobiology relevant for understanding the concept of habitability,
showing why icy moons around gas giant planets may be a common habitat
in the galaxy. We will review in particular the recent knowledge on the
tiny moon Enceladus and its connection with the history of Saturn's
rings. We will then present the development milestones and future
challenges of the ESA JUICE mission.