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Europa Jupiter System Mission
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The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) is a proposed joint ESA/NASA unmanned space mission for the in-depth exploration of Jupiter's moons with a focus on Europa, Ganymede and Jupiter's magnetosphere; its working name at ESA is Laplace. In February 2009 it was announced that ESA/NASA had given this mission priority ahead of the Titan Saturn System Mission. The ESA contribution still faces funding competition from other missions such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO).

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Encyclopedia
The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) is a proposed joint ESA/NASA unmanned space mission for the in-depth exploration of Jupiter's moons with a focus on Europa, Ganymede and Jupiter's magnetosphere; its working name at ESA is Laplace. In February 2009 it was announced that ESA/NASA had given this mission priority ahead of the Titan Saturn System Mission. The ESA contribution still faces funding competition from other missions such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). The proposed launch date is around 2020..
The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has expressed an interest in contributing, although no deal has been finalized. Like the TSSM, the EJSM (without a participation by JAXA) is estimated to cost $4.45 billion, of which NASA contributes $3.8 billion and ESA $650 million.
Mission architecture
The most distinctive feature of the EJSM/Laplace-study, are its proposed two, or possibly three, separate orbiters:
The baseline EJSM architecture consists of JEO and JGO, which will execute an intricately choreographed exploration of the Jupiter System before settling into orbit around Europa and Ganymede, respectively. Both are to monitor dynamic phenomena such as Io’s volcanoes and Jupiter’s atmosphere, map the Jovian magnetosphere and its interactions with the Galilean satellites, and characterize water oceans beneath the ice shells of Europa and Ganymede. Should JAXA join the project, JMO will explore the Jovian magnetosphere in situ as a template for an astrophysical magnetised disk and affording the opportunity for “3-point” investigations of the Jupiter system via synergistic observations with JGO and JEO.
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