Europa Study Confirms Ice Transparency Over 13 Years, Aiding 2030 Clipper Mission
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jun 18
Europa Study Confirms Ice Transparency Over 13 Years, Aiding 2030 Clipper Mission
3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Jun 18
Summary
Scientists analyzing 2011-2024 radar data found Europa’s brightness stayed largely constant across changing viewing angles, letting them set a new limit on how transparent the moon’s ice is.
That result builds on Europa’s unusually high radar albedo, which researchers say matches multiple scattering inside clean, porous ice rather than the radar behavior seen on rocky worlds.
The broader dataset confirms and extends radar work from the 1980s and 1990s, covering far more of Europa’s rotational phases and giving a stronger baseline for interpretation.
NASA’s Europa Clipper and ESA’s Juice can use those limits to judge how deeply radar may probe below the surface, sharpening searches for structure and possible subsurface ocean clues.
This 13-year radar map guides a NASA mission, but what local surprises might lurk beneath Europa's ice?
With water plumes now in doubt, is a cracked ice shell Europa's last real hope for hosting life?
The 13-Year Radar Portrait of Europa: A New Baseline for Assessing Habitability and Guiding Europa Clipper
Overview
On June 16, 2026, UCLA astronomer Tunhui Xie and his team unveiled a groundbreaking 13-year ground-based radar dataset of Europa’s ice shell, collected from 2006 to 2019. Using a sophisticated bistatic radar setup with NASA’s Goldstone Radar as the transmitter, this effort created the most extensive baseline of Europa’s radar properties ever achieved. The dataset provides crucial insights into the moon’s dynamic ice, helping scientists understand its structure and potential for habitability. This milestone not only advances planetary science but also lays a vital foundation for NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission.