The Galilean moons of the Jovian system are of great interest for future space exploration due to the belief that three of the four of the largest moons (Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) contain water (in liquid and/or ice form). So far the eight spacecraft that have visited the vicinity of Jupiter are Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Ulysses, Galileo, Cassini, and most recently New Horizons. NASA has ambitions to send another probe to further study Europa.

At Princeton Satellite Systems, in collaboration with Dr. Samuel Cohen at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, we’ve been working on the Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) engine, an advanced technology for space propulsion and power generation. Using the DFD, we have simulated two potential missions to Europa, an orbiter mission and a lander mission. The simulations were completed in MATLAB using functions contained within our Spacecraft Control Toolbox.

The results are summarized in a white paper available here . This paper highlights the amazing potential of advanced technologies like the DFD engine. By making relatively small investments to develop DFD now, there is the possibility for great discovery in the near future.

Please see our DFD page for more detail about how this engine works. For more information about how you can design your space missions visit our Spacecraft Control Toolbox page!