Enceladus Explorer (EnEx) is a proposed interplanetary orbiter andlander concept equipped with a subsurface maneuverable ice melting probe suitable to assess the existence oflife onSaturn's moonEnceladus.[1]
Theastrobiology Enceladus Explorer project is funded by theGerman Aerospace Center (DLR), and is carried out by a research consortium of seven German universities.[1][2] This collaborative project was started on 22 February 2012.[3]
Enceladus is a small icy moon, seemingly similar in chemical makeup tocomets,[4] with jets orgeysers of water erupting from its surface that might be connected to activehydrothermal vents at its subsurface water ocean floor,[5][6][7][8][9] where the moon's ocean meets the underlying rock, a prime habitat forlife.[10][11] The geysers could provide easy access for sampling the moon's subsurface ocean, and if there ismicrobial life in it, ice particles from the sea could contain the evidence astrobiologists need to identify them.[12] Water from the ocean is assumed to upwell through cracks in the ice and then eject intoouter space through the plumes. This water would remain liquid up to shallow depths in the order of even of tens of meters.[13]
Enceladus's south pole - Geysers spray water from many locations along the'tiger stripes' feature.
The EnEx mission consists of a lander carrying the IceMole, and an orbiter with the main function to act as a communications relay between the lander and Earth. After launch, the lander and orbiter would perform the interplanetary transfer to Saturn together, using the on-boardnuclear electric propulsion (NEP) to power electricion thrusters. Thelander would land at a safe distance away from an active vapor plume. The IceMole would then be deployed to melt its way through, while navigating autonomously around hazards, and towards a target subglacial aquiferous fracture at a depth of about 200 m (660 ft) for anin situ examination for the presence ofmicroorganisms before potentialbiosignatures andbiomolecules are degraded by exposure toouter space.[1][2][14] The IceMole has a high energy demand that would be met by a cable run from the lander's small nuclear reactor providing 5kW of electrical power.[1][3][15]
The lander would be equipped with theIceMole, an autonomous and maneuverable melting ice probe for cleanin situ analysis and sampling of glacial ice and subglacial materials,[13] including a liquid sample from a water reservoir below the icy crust.[16] The design is based on combining melting and mechanical propulsion.[17][18] They demonstrated downward, horizontal and upward melting, as well as curve driving and dirt layer penetration. It offers systems for obstacle avoidance, target detection, and acoustic navigation in ice.[17][19]
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