Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. One cannot assume that the Europan crust is pure water ice. The evidence points to substantial deposits of hydrated salt, heterogeneously distributed throughout. The surface temperatures of a typical Pu RTG are not sufficient to melt through salt of some thickness threshold that an engineer familiar with the problem could calculate. My semi-educated guess is anything over 0.5 meter will be a problem. Therefore, a mechanical system, such as a rotary drill(s) will likely be necessary. The best idea I've heard is to first probe the crust's surface for clues to composition and life. This can be easily done with drill-equipped landers or penetrator probes. Of these, the penetrator probes are the most cost effective. Please refer to the JPL Galileo picture gallery.
Gary >As to question 1- >In our recently completed senior design project (head to >expert.cc.purdue.edu/~precoda if you're interested), we in Purdue's >Astronautical Engineering program found a melting time of about 9 months >for 2 1/2 miles of ice, assuming all 4.3 kW of a typical RTG's thermal >output went directly into the ice below. So for something melting through >12 miles with just 1 RTG, something on the order of 4 to 5 years would be >expected. >-Paul > >== >You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/ == You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/
