Extraterrestrial sushi?
It may not be as farfetched as we might think.
The very next day – after SpaceX caught a 23-story rocket returning from space with two mechanical arms on a launch pad – it launched NASA’s Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
As if the space-related events of the last few days weren’t exciting enough already (The Bleeding Edge – The Impossible Catch).
The Europa Clipper has now embarked on its six-year journey to one of Jupiter’s moons.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launching Europa Clipper | Source: NASA
And SpaceX didn’t stop at that.
After the fifth test flight of the Starship on Sunday and the Falcon Heavy launch of the Europa Clipper on Monday, SpaceX launched not one, but two Falcon 9 rockets early yesterday morning. The rockets are carrying additional Starlink satellites into orbit.
That’s four perfect launches in three states (California, Texas, and Florida) in just 40 hours. Unheard of.
SpaceX has now had 101 launches this year to date, already shattering its previous record.
How much longer until SpaceX is averaging one launch a day?
The Europa Clipper is by far one of the most exciting space exploration missions in history.
As the name implies, the Europa Clipper is destined for Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. More specifically, it will enter an orbit around Jupiter (the gray dot at the center of the image below) in April 2030, and then pass by Europa 49 times – the closest flyby just 16 miles (25 kilometers).
Europa Clipper’s Orbit Around Jupiter | Source: NASA
But why the interest in such a faraway land? What makes Europa worthy of a dedicated planetary mission?
Put simply, Europa is one of the highest probability locations for extraterrestrial life in our solar system. And we shouldn’t let the icy surface deceive us.
Rendering of Europa Clipper Passing Over Europa | Source: NASA
Beneath its icy crust, it is believed there is a massive ocean of liquid water, potentially as much as 100 kilometers deep. And because of the gravitational interactions between Europa, Jupiter, and the other moons, there is tidal heating… which keeps the oceans from freezing.
Existing research on Europa has also indicated the presence of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus, and carbon… the elements of life.
Europa’s active core and tidal heating suggest the likelihood of hydrothermal vents. The heat and chemical reactions would be capable of supporting oceanic life.
And that’s the mission of the Europa Clipper – to confirm Europa is capable of supporting life.
On board are high-resolution cameras, spectrometers, and radar that can penetrate the layer of ice above the oceans.
It will be looking for eruptions of water as well as measuring the composition of Europa’s atmosphere.
With research to date, there is already evidence of cracks in Europa’s ice shell above its oceans. This is exciting because it suggests that the icy shell may not be that thick and that there could be geyser-like plumes emerging from Europa’s surface.
Europa Clipper should be able to confirm this on its mission. And if liquid plumes are emitting from Europa, the Europa Clipper also has instruments to measure the composition of any particles in Europa’s thin atmosphere.
I know that it might be a little frustrating to have to wait almost six years before Europa Clipper arrives at its destination. Given the distances involved – a 1.8-billion-mile trip (2.9 billion km) –and the state of current propulsion technology, it’s a long trip.
Which raises a question…
What’s next? How will long-distance space travel ever be actually possible?
How are we going to shorten the duration of our trips to other worlds?
Elon Musk is already thinking about trips much farther afield. Earlier this year he said:
This Starship is designed to traverse our entire solar system and beyond to the cloud of objects surrounding us. A future Starship, much larger and more advanced, will travel to other star systems.
Is that even possible?
New propulsion systems will have to be developed to speed the long journeys. The industry will likely start small, with small spacecraft, for testing before scaling to larger spacecraft capable of transporting humans and supplies.
But the planning is already well underway.
In 2016, internet tycoon Yuri Milner and physicist Stephen Hawking announced the Breakthrough Starshot Project – to develop a method of propulsion capable of reaching 20% of the speed of light.
The project envisions gram-scale robotic spacecraft that carry cameras, photon thrusters, power supply, navigation, and communication equipment. The idea is to use a light sail and a light beamer to emit 100 gigawatts to propel the gram-scale spacecraft to remarkable speeds.
If achieved, this would enable us to send tiny spacecraft to the nearest star system to our solar system, Alpha Centauri, which is 25 trillion miles away (4.37 light-years). That trip would be possible in just 20 years.
A couple of years ago, you might have written off this issue of The Bleeding Edge as “too far out there, Jeff.” Interesting, sure, but relevant to us, in our lifetimes? In the next 5 to 10 years, even? Certainly not investable…
But my longtime readers who have been paying close attention know better.
Up until now, it’s been just humans figuring all this out by hand, so to speak, constrained by our own limitations in time, our biological needs, and our ability to leverage computers.
But as we well know, something very special has happened with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, specifically neural networks. AI now can generate work, answers, and novel outputs that have already transformed certain areas of research.
The rules have changed. And AI has no biological needs. The only constraint is electricity, and if there is plenty of that, there is no constraint at all.
The timelines for any field of research are being rewritten. Propulsion, materials, and other forms of aerospace technology are no different.
The latest technological advancements that already exist today will enable a lunar outpost, a Martian outpost, and travel throughout our solar system. And this is just the beginning.
Our solar system is rich with natural resources, greatly expanding what is possible both here on Earth as well as at extraterrestrial locations.
And yes, I’d be willing to bet that we’ll find some form of extraterrestrial life in our own solar system in our lifetimes.
On some planets, that might just mean microbes. And on a moon like Europa, it might mean aquatic life.
And you know what really cold water means for aquatic life?
Great sushi.
Regards,
Jeff
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
