$5 Billion on the Line: Will NASA’s Europa Clipper Survive Jupiter’s Extreme Radiation?

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is focused on solving transistor radiation issues as it prepares for launch on an expedition to Jupiter to explore Europa’s habitability.

The mission faces challenges with radiation-resistant transistors, discovered to be less durable against Jupiter’s intense radiation. Tests at various NASA centers aim to address these issues.

Preparations for the launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission are progressing. The spacecraft was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this past May, and the team has successfully installed the high-gain antenna.

Engineers with NASA’s Europa Clipper mission continue to conduct extensive testing of transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. The particular versions used by Europa Clipper are radiation-hardened and are intended to tolerate 100 to 300 kilorad, or krad (a “rad” is a unit of measure for absorbed dose of ionizing radiation).