spacetoday.net: NASA and ESA agree on Jupiter moons mission

Posted: Thu, Feb 19, 2009, 8:13 AM ET (1313 GMT)

Europa Jupiter System Mission illus. (ESA)

The space agencies of the US and Europe have agreed to cooperate on the development of a multibillion-dollar mission to Jupiter's giant moons. The Europa Jupiter System Mission will feature two spacecraft, one built by NASA to orbit the icy moon Europa, and one built by ESA to orbit Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. The decision came after the two space agencies agreed to merge separate concepts for missions to the outer solar system. NASA and ESA also considered making a mission to Saturn and its largest moon Titan as its top priority, but decided that the Jupiter mission was technically more feasible to implement first, according to an ESA statement. The Jupiter spacecraft would launch in 2020 and arrive in 2026 for at least a three-year mission.