NASA's Europa Clipper: $5 Billion Mission Threatened by Radiation-Sensitive Electronic Circuits

Kennedy Space Center, Florida United States of America
As it flies past Europa, the spacecraft will repeatedly face Jupiter's harsh radiation environment.
NASA's Europa Clipper faces a threat to its $5 billion mission due to radiation-sensitive electronic circuits.
The problem involves a batch of MOSFETs that do not meet radiation-hardness standards and serve as amplifiers or switches in the spacecraft.
NASA's Europa Clipper: $5 Billion Mission Threatened by Radiation-Sensitive Electronic Circuits

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft faces a potential threat to its $5 billion mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon and the ocean inside it due to recently discovered flaws in electronic circuits. The problem involves a batch of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) that do not meet radiation-hardness standards and serve as amplifiers or switches, controlling power distribution to parts of the spacecraft. As it flies past Europa multiple times, the spacecraft will repeatedly face Jupiter's harsh radiation environment. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered the problem in May after discussing with colleagues about a classified satellite at a conference.


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Confidence

80%

Doubts
  • Are there any backup plans or contingencies in place to mitigate the impact of the faulty circuits?
  • What is the exact nature and extent of the radiation-sensitivity issue with these MOSFETs?

Sources

92%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

NASA Europa Clipper Mission Imperiled by Chips on Spacecraft

The Name Of The NZ Prefix. I PWA NZI.P.Was Dropped. David W. Friday, 12 July 2024 00:38
  • Unique Points
    • NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft may experience issues with transistors due to radiation around Jupiter.
    • Transistors, electric switches that are building blocks of computer chips and other electronics, may not be able to resist the powerful radiation of the Jovian system.
  • Accuracy
    • The Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in October 2023.
    • Europa orbits inside the Jovian radiation belt.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

90%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Europa Clipper Astrobiology Probe Undergoes High Gain Antenna Installation

Astrobiology Web LLC Keith Cowing Wednesday, 10 July 2024 15:34
  • Unique Points
    • NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is undergoing high gain antenna installation at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
    • The high-gain antenna will send research data from Europa Clipper to scientists on Earth.
    • Europa Clipper is a spacecraft designed to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
    • Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than October 2024.
  • Accuracy
    • ,
    • The Europa Clipper mission is classified as NASA’s ‘flagship’ and aims to assess the potential habitability of Europa, a moon of Jupiter.
    • Europa orbits inside the Jovian radiation belt, where conditions are over 50 times more radioactive than those found around Earth.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

97%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Vulnerable transistors threaten to upend Europa Clipper mission

Science News Network LLC Friday, 12 July 2024 08:58
  • Unique Points
    • NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft faces a potential threat to its $5 billion mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon and the ocean inside it due to recently discovered flaws in electronic circuits.
    • The problem involves a batch of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) that do not meet radiation-hardness standards.
    • These transistors serve as amplifiers or switches, controlling power distribution to parts of the spacecraft. They can be damaged by high-energy radiation particles.
    • As it flies past Europa multiple times, the spacecraft will repeatedly face Jupiter's harsh radiation environment.
    • Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered the problem in May after discussing with colleagues about a classified satellite at a conference.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The article contains an appeal to authority and a potential dichotomous depiction. The author cites concerns from a classified satellite and NASA's independent planetary science panel without providing specific details on the discussions or findings, which could be seen as an appeal to authority. Additionally, the article presents Jupiter's radiation environment as harsh compared to Earth's, creating a potential dichotomy between these two environments.
    • The engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which leads the development of Clipper, discovered the problem in May after talking with colleagues about a classified satellite at a conference.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication