Nuking Europa, Nukes and other 'futuristic' ideas for exploring Europa Options

[SergeyVLazarev]

Hi all! In my opinion, Europa explorer must be cheap and simple.

It must consist of 5 parts - 2 orbiters, 3 small and robust landers, and 3 nuclear and termonuclear bombs. I think that 10 Kt - 100 kt - 1 Mgt sequence is optimal.


First orbiter is robust, high protected from radioactivity, armed device. On high orbite over Europe
With simple and primitive long focused camera, laser-radar. It must to spectacle and record all nuclear explosion parametres.
has also a radio recever from landers.

second orbiter is orbiting low over the Europe. It must to fly over epicenter of nuke and drop lander to measure and see all.
To defend more complex second orbiter from radioactivity rays of nuclear explosion, we struck and explode a nuke in another side of Europe

Why nukes? Because it reveal all. First one, we"ll have a great quake of Europe. And can record all seismic infomation without landers.
next one. we can to melt ice and see a clear water - just hollow in the crust!!!

at 3 rd.

We dont need a special lander. If we can melt great hollow in crust - we'll have a liquid water to catch our lander! We dont need airbags, rockets. Just an robust "lander" like small susmarine!!

4 th. we ll have great cloud of water vapour and ice to take from there any chemical information.

[SergeyVLazarev]

I don't know if by "some quake" you mean YOUR idea or any seismological study. Seismological studies are a good idea.

my idea is to use a compact and lightweight power sources for it. :-)

Spectral analysis of a thermonuclear explosion would not tell us which organic compounds existed before they had been incinerated. Someone could type a basic chemistry text into the thread at this point, or you could consult one offline.

we dont speak about "organic compounds" now. We dont know even pH of european "water" - what about a sulfur acid? or some shit solved in water?
Before organic chemistry and "search of life" on radiation sterilized surface, we always need some simply analyses.
Is not a great idea to search life in sulfur acid.
first one we must get inside, and anylize that "water'. One way to it - termonukes.

This isn't IMHO. My opinion is humble, but these things are fact. The list works a lot better when the posters look up the basics and present each other with the thoughts that come to mind AFTER that.

We hav'nt any facts about Europa critical parametres.
about that "water'. Only Galileo zond fly past Europa many years ago, and some NASA 3d-pictures on NASA site, that lead to thinks "they never fly nowhere, just shot all in hollywood"

[helvick]

.. Only Galileo zond fly past Europa many years ago, and some NASA 3d-pictures on NASA site, that lead to thinks "they never fly nowhere, just shot all in hollywood"

OK sergey, we've tried to humor you but you're not getting with the programme. The idea is dramatic and fun to consider for a couple of minutes but any half way serious thinking shows that it is silly and your final comment is heading into woowoo territory.

None of your numbers add up, you don't seem to want to think about the technicalities and in the end seem to have no idea what scientific data you are trying to get.

I'll continue the discussion if you want to make some serious suggestions but if wild assed conjecture is all you want, sorry that's not my bag.

BTW for the record. The Tsar Bomba was restricted to 50MT from ~100MT by replacing the uranium fast fission third stage in the design with lead in order to reduce fallout, it was not because of fear of a hydrogen fusion reaction.

A mission with seismometers would be a damn fine idea but you don't need to blow away half the side of the moon to get the data, just leave them in situ and listen. At most you might want to schedule a small impact (a cruise stage should do) if mission duration was a constraint. Otherwise natural impacts and other events will provide more than enough "quake" samples.