Geodetic Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission

G Steinbrügge; R S Park; J H Roberts; M Bland; S Brooks; J Castillo-Rogez; G Cascioli; A Genova; T Greathouse; H Hussmann; R Kirk; A Magnanini; E Mazarico; F Nimmo; M S Park; F Petricca; K Retherford; D M Schroeder; K M Soderlund; P Tortora; M Zannoni

doi:10.1007/s11214-025-01250-x

Geodetic Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission

Space Sci Rev. 2026;222(1):17. doi: 10.1007/s11214-025-01250-x. Epub 2026 Feb 3.

Authors

G Steinbrügge¹, R S Park¹, J H Roberts², M Bland³, S Brooks¹, J Castillo-Rogez¹, G Cascioli^{4

5}, A Genova⁶, T Greathouse⁷, H Hussmann⁸, R Kirk³, A Magnanini⁹, E Mazarico⁴, F Nimmo¹⁰, M S Park¹¹, F Petricca¹, K Retherford⁷, D M Schroeder¹², K M Soderlund¹³, P Tortora⁹, M Zannoni⁹

Affiliations

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA.
² Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD USA.
³ United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ USA.
⁴ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
⁵ Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD USA.
⁶ Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁷ Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX USA.
⁸ Institute of Space Research, German Aerospace Center, Berlin, Germany.
⁹ Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Forlì (FC), Italy.
¹⁰ University of California, Santa Cruz, CA USA.
¹¹ Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA.
¹² Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA.
¹³ University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX USA.

Abstract

The Europa Clipper mission will investigate the geophysical properties of Europa, one of Jupiter's Galilean moons, to assess its habitability. Geodetic measurements will play a critical role in determining Europa's internal structure, including the thickness of the ice shell, the presence and extent of a subsurface ocean, and the distribution of mass in the deeper interior. To build the necessary geodetic data set, the Geodesy Focus Group (GFG) coordinates cross-instrument efforts to measure Europa's global shape, rotational parameters, gravity field, and degree-2 tidal Love numbers ( $k_{2}$ and $h_{2}$ ). Here we summarize how data from the Gravity/Radio Science (G/RS) investigation, Europa Imaging System (EIS), Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding (REASON), and Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS) will be used to infer geodetic constraints on the interior structure and to establish a precise cartographic reference system for geophysical and geological interpretation. Together, the resulting geodetic information will contribute to a deeper understanding of Europa's internal dynamics and the potential habitability of its ocean.

Publication types

Review