Descrizione del progetto
Cercare acqua allo stato liquido sotto la superficie delle lune del sistema solare
La presenza di acqua allo stato liquido è uno dei pochi prerequisiti essenziali per la vita, almeno così come la conosciamo sulla Terra. I grandi corpi idrici possono giacere sotto la crosta ghiacciata delle lune del nostro sistema solare. Combinando simulazioni a computer e nuove osservazioni al telescopio, il progetto Exo-Oceans, finanziato dall’UE, intende cercare oceani sulle lune di Saturno (Titano ed Encelado) e anche al di fuori del nostro sistema solare. Il lavoro di ricerca consentirà analisi dettagliate degli oceani sulle lune di Giove (Europa e Ganimede). Sebbene la presenza di acqua su queste due lune sia già nota, gli approcci precedenti hanno fallito nel caratterizzare tali oceani nascosti. I risultati del progetto fungeranno da base fondamentale per lo studio di oceani e vita extraterrestri.
Obiettivo
The existence of liquid water is one of the few preconditions for life as we know it. Therefore, the search and characterization of liquid water outside of Earth plays an essential role in the search for extraterrestrial life. Prominent candidates to host liquid water are moons in the outer solar system, which can maintain oceans under their icy surfaces. The currently most effective way to identify such subsurface oceans is through effects of their salinity and thus electrical conductivity. The conductivity modifies the magnetic field around these moons through a process referred to as electromagnetic induction. Spacecraft measurements of associated magnetic field perturbations provided evidence for oceans within Jupiter’s moon Europa and Ganymede. Current analysis tools however reached an impasse. No scientific techniques are available, which provide quantitative estimates and uncertainties of key ocean properties when the effects of the dense magnetized plasmas around the moons are included. Here we propose entirely new approaches, which overcome these issues. Our novel techniques will include a simultaneous treatment of the physics in all internal and external conductive layers and will for the first time use all available observations including auroral emission to go beyond considering magnetic fields only. EXO-OCEANS will systematically characterize the ocean properties on Europa and Ganymede including the ocean candidate Callisto. Characterizing the oceans on Ganymede, Europa and Callisto are at the heart of ESA’s Juice and NASA’s Europa Clipper missions. For Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus where currently existing techniques do not work, we will invent a new detection technique. In parallel we will use the Hubble Space Telescope to search and characterize aurora in extrasolar planetary systems to pave the way for ocean detections beyond the solar system.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringastronautical engineeringspacecraft
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyoptical astronomy
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesnatural satellites
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantIstituzione ospitante
50931 Koln
Germania