ABSTRACT

Jupiter’s moon Europa has proved to be the most enigmatic of water worlds – it likely contains a deep salty ocean beneath its youthful ice crust, and may have conditions conducive to life. This talk will review our scientific knowledge about Europa, from the first observations made by the astronomer Galileo, up to recent discoveries made using NASA spacecraft, and will discuss plans for its future exploration.

About the Speaker:

LOUISE M. PROCKTER is a principal professional staff scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in MD, and is currently the Assistant Science Branch Supervisor in APL’s Space Department. Her primary research interests are the geology of icy satellites, especially Ganymede and Europa. Dr. Prockter was an Imaging Team Associate on the Galileo and NEAR missions, and is a Co-Investigator and served as Deputy Project Scientist on the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. She is a Deputy Project Scientist on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission study. Dr. Prockter recently served on the NASA Planetary Science Subcommittee, and has served on numerous NRC committees including the 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey satellites panel. She is currently a member of the NRC Space Studies Board. Dr. Prockter received her Ph.D. in Planetary Geology from Brown University.