Cratering Characteristics of the Europa Kinetic Ice Penetrator

Abstract

This thesis further develops the Europa Kinetic Ice Penetrator (EKIP) landing technique for airless bodies, as well as characterizes the effect EKIP would have on Europa’s surface. Damage to the extremophile Planococcus Halocryophilus OR1 (PHOR1) during a laboratory hypervelocity impact test was studied the effect of rapid application of pressure to microbes frozen in ice. Significant die-off occurred, however PHOR1 microbes survived a 2.2km/s impact. Field testing the second-stage deployment, as well as to characterize crater morphology of the EKIP system was conducted. With low impact velocities, penetrators consistently had deeper, narrower craters than natural impactors (rocks), and showed less radial and sub-impactor compression. This, and future crater data into harder substrates, will create a cratering hardness curve for this design impactor into airless bodies. This curve, used with the eventual in situ craters, can be used to constrain the hardness and other physical properties of the surface of icy-bodies.