Nuclear-Run Spacecraft to Study Jupiter’s Moons
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
NASA plans to dispatch a hulking nuclear-powered spacecraft to determine whether three of Jupiter’s icy, planet-sized moons have the potential to harbor life. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, or JIMO, would spend monthlong stints circling the moons Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, which are believed to have vast oceans tucked beneath thick covers of ice.
The unmanned craft, far larger and more powerful than any other sent to explore the outer solar system, would spend years studying the moons’ makeup, geologic history and potential for sustaining life, as well as Jupiter itself. JIMO is scheduled to launch about 2011.
