Melt probes for a Future Europa Lander
Geoscience & Remote Sensing Society
Speaker: Paula do Vale Pereira
Abstract: Water is essential to the formation and evolution of life as we know it. The Earth is an
example of a planet full of liquid water where life has successfully formed. Fortunately,
water is fairly common in our solar system—many other celestial bodies present oceans
of liquid water. In the search for finding extraterrestrial life, our best bet may be traveling
to such nearby Ocean Worlds. Jupiter’s moon Europa, for example, is believed to
harbor not only liquid water but also easily available energy and biologically essential
elements. However, these are not readily available at the surface—an ice crust up to 30
km thick covers the liquid water. Therefore, a key remaining challenge is reaching the
oceans of Europa. This requires developing ice penetrators that can carry payloads
from the cryogenic vacuum at the surface to the liquid water ocean below the ice. Initial
steps have been taken to develop analytical and numerical models of the thermal and
physical dynamics of ice penetrators in Europa-relevant environments, but experimental
validation of these models has been limited. We have built and experimentally tested
the performance of a set of melt probes under thermodynamic conditions similar to
those of Europa. Our probes are designed to test the fundamental thermal properties of
melt probes in cryogenic ice. They include monitoring of power, temperature, and
penetration depth. The validated thermal model resulting from this work will help
optimize the probe design for a future Europa lander, minimizing the time it takes for the
probe to reach the ocean and maximizing the science return of a mission to Europa.
Bio: Paula do Vale Pereira is a PhD Candidate in Aerospace Engineering at MIT. Paula has
master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering (MIT, 2019) and Thermal Engineering
(UFSC, 2017), and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (UFSC, 2014).
Paula specializes in the thermo-mechanical features of space exploration systems. She
has experience designing, manufacturing, integrating, testing, and operating satellites,
besides a strong knowledge of design and experimental analysis of probes for
extraterrestrial oceans. Paula’s main goal is to use science and engineering to help
further humanity’s knowledge about both our own planet and other worlds in the solar
system. Paula has been recognized as a “20 Twenty” by the Aviation Week/AIAA, a
“Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering” by UC Berkeley, an “Amelia Earhart Fellow” by
the Zonta Foundation, and a “Graduate Woman of Excellence” by MIT.