Europa Imaging System (EIS) on the NASA Europa Clipper Mission

The Europa Imaging System (EIS), on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, consists of a narrow-angle camera (NAC) and a wide-angle camera (WAC) that are designed to work together to address high-priority science objectives regarding Europa's geology, recent activity, composition, and the nature of its ice shell. Observations will range from plume-search imaging at 10-km pixel scale, to global mapping at ≤100-m pixel scale, to extremely high-resolution imaging at ≤1-m pixel scale. As part of the Europa Clipper payload, EIS will investigate the geologic processes at work in the ice shell, search for current activity and plumes, and constrain the potential for exchange of material with the subsurface ocean.

EIS accommodates variable geometries and illumination conditions during high-relative-velocity, low-altitude flybys with both framing and pushbroom imaging capability using rapid-readout 8-Megapixel (4k x 2k) CMOS detectors. Color observations are acquired in pushbroom mode using up to six broadband filters. The data processing units (DPUs) perform digital time delay integration (TDI) to enhance signal-to-noise ratios and allow utilization of readout strategies to measure and correct spacecraft jitter.

The NAC has a 2.3° x 1.2° field of view (FOV) with a 10-μrad instantaneous FOV (IFOV) to achieve 0.5-m pixel scale over a swath 2 km wide and several km long from a range of 50 km. It is mounted on a 2-axis gimbal with ±30° cross- and along-track pointing that enables independent targeting and near-global (≥90%) mapping at ≤100-m pixel scale (to date, only ~14% of Europa has been imaged at ≤500 m/pixel), as well as stereo imaging from as close as 50-km altitude for digital topographic models (DTMs) with ≤4-m ground sample distance (GSD) and ≤1-m vertical precision. The NAC will also perform distant observations to search for potential erupting plumes.

The WAC has a 48° x 24° FOV with a 218-μrad IFOV, achieving 11-m pixel scale from a range of 50 km at the center of a 44-km-wide swath and generating DTMs with 32-m GSD and ≤5-m vertical precision. It is designed to acquire 3-line pushbroom stereo and color swaths along flyby ground-tracks.

EIS science goals include: constraining the formation processes of landforms by characterizing geologic structures, units, and global cross-cutting relationships; identifying relationships between surface and sub-surface structures and potential near-surface water detected by ice-penetrating radar; investigating compositional variability; searching for evidence of recent or current activity, including potential erupting plumes; constraining ice-shell thickness from global shape measurements via limb fits; characterizing surface clutter to aid interpretation of deep and shallow radar sounding; and characterizing the surface at meter scales to identify scientifically compelling sites and landing hazards. We will present anticipated EIS observations during the planned tour at Jupiter, opportunities for collaborative science with other Europa Clipper instruments and with JUICE, and how the cameras will address key aspects of Europa to improve our understanding of the habitability of this ocean world.