Europa Orbiter
An artist's impression of NASA's Europa Orbiter above the surface of Jupiter's moon, Europa | |
| Mission type | Europa orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | Cancelled |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 900 kg (2,000 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2003 |
| Rocket | Space Shuttle |
| Europa orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 2007 (proposed) |
| Large Strategic Science Missions Planetary Science Division | |
The Europa Orbiter was a planned NASA mission to Jupiter's Moon Europa, that was cancelled in 2002. Its main objectives included determining the presence or absence of a subsurface ocean and identifying candidate sites for future lander missions. Europa Orbiter received pre-project funding in 1998, and resulted from NASA's Fire and Ice project.