REASON: An Ice Penetrating Radar for NASA’s Europa Clipper
REASON — Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface — is an ice penetrating radar carried by NASA’s flagship Europa Clipper spacecraft on its mission to explore icy ocean habitats on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Developed by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) at the Jackson School of Geosciences, REASON is one of nine instruments aboard Europa Clipper, but it’s the only one that can look directly into Europa’s icy shell. The ice penetrating radar technology behind REASON was developed by UTIG researchers to study Antarctica’s ice sheet. The research stories below chart REASON’s journey from conception and development, to Earth-bound calibration, validation and journey to the final frontier.
October 22, 2014
Dissecting a Glacier
A decade of research on Thwaites Glacier has greatly advanced knowledge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet’s potential contribution to sea level rise By Tim Green…
Read MoreJune 10, 2014
Researchers Find Major West Antarctic Glacier Melting from Geothermal Sources
AUSTIN, Texas — Thwaites Glacier, the large, rapidly changing outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is not only being eroded by the ocean, it’s…
Read MoreDecember 3, 2013
Model Suggests Ocean Currents Shape Europa’s Icy Shell in Ways Critical for Potential Habitats
AUSTIN, Texas — In a finding of relevance to the search for life in our solar system, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s…
Read MoreAugust 6, 2013
Scientists Helped Design NASA Mission Concept to Search for Life on Europa
Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics helped develop a blueprint for a possible future NASA lander mission to Europa, an…
Read MoreJuly 9, 2013
Scientists Image Vast Subglacial Water System Underpinning West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier
AUSTIN, Texas — In a development that will help predict potential sea level rise from the Antarctic ice sheet, scientists from The University of Texas…
Read MoreMay 11, 2012
Jackson School Scientists Part of Science Team for Space Probe to Jupiter’s Icy Moons
The European Space Agency recently announced that it will send a space probe to Jupiter and its large icy moons Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. Scientists…
Read MoreNovember 16, 2011
Scientists Find Evidence for “Great Lake” on Europa and Potential New Habitat for Life
Watch animation of how lakes form inside Europa’s icy shell. In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from The University…
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