AUV to Europa

Ryan OConnor (133833)

As the distance from Earth to Europa is approximately 588 (at its closest) to 968 (at its
furthest) million km (Redd, 2012), it would be best to send the most advanced autonous
system. There will be a need for four separate Autonomous systems, these are detailed below;
1. Stage 1: this will be the main rocket which will be used to send the system out of
earths orbit and into the Europas orbit. The design of the rocket will be left to
NASA and NASA JPL.
2. Stage 2: Once the system has entered Europas orbit, it will require a vehicle to land
the AUV and drill safely on the surface of Europa.
3. Stage 3: this stage will require a nuclear powered heat probe, which will be used to
deliver the AUV to the ocean under the Ice.
4. Stage 4: The final stage is the AUV which will be used for water sampling and
searching for life.
Systems
These are details of the systems to be placed on each stage.
Stage 1
This is the main rocket used to send the AUV to Europa. As weight is always an issue with
rockets, this one will be designed around the AUV.
Stage 2
This stage will require sensors which will be able to scan the surface of Europa to determine
a safe and ideal landing site for the AUV. Once it has set the landing craft (stage 2 and 4) on
an entry trajectory it will then be used as a communications satellite which will send any data
gained from the AUV to Earth.
Stage 3
The landing stage will require a launcher which will be used to deploy the nuclear powered
heat probe with the AUV. An umbilical will be connected to the probe which will be used to
relay data from the AUV to the launcher and then onto the satellite in orbit, the launcher will
require at least 20 25 km of ice (ESS 298, 2013).
Stage 4
The AUV will have very little communication with Earth due to the 53 min communications
delay between Europa and Earth (Communication Delay, 2013), this delay will be taken into
account should there be a need to send commands to the AUV. The AUV will be powered by
a nuclear generator. This AUV will require an array of sensors;

Sonar: this will be used to determine depth/distance to obstacles around the AUV.
Infrared Sensors: This will direct the AUV to any geothermal vents.
Camera: this will be used to take good old fashion happy snaps for the family album.
References
Redd. N. T. (2012) How Far Away is Jupiter. Retrieved September 15, 2013. From
http://www.space.com/18383-how-far-away-is-jupiter.html
Communication Delay. (2013). Retrieved September 15, 2013. From
http://www.spaceacademy.net.au/spacelink/commdly.htm
ESS 298. (2013). How Thick is Europas Ice Shell Crust?. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja
&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.ess.ucla.edu%2F~nimmo%2Fess
298%2Fstudent_presentations%2FEuropa.ppt&ei=0fA4UsPqG8a8iAeFj4DwDQ&usg
=AFQjCNH6Fi2BvUe-
Q55uWyFiiUTrtxbJow&sig2=uCCH4R7SrjN5rQPcI8du6w&bvm=bv.52164340,bs.1,
d.aGc