About a month ago, I got
an invitation to go onto
a cable news show. They
wanted me to argue with
someone about some small
issue that no one was
going to remember in a
week.
I said no, but then I
pitched them a different
idea.
“You know, I’m on the
Space Subcommittee. NASA
is doing a mission to
Europa later this year
and it’s going to be
amazing. How about I
come on and talk about
that?”
I’ll never forget his
response. He laughed a
little and said, “No,
that would make people
feel good.”
Well, I think you
deserve to feel good
about something. So I’m
going to tell you about
the mission to Europa -
because we’re all paying
for it as taxpayers, and
because it really is
amazing.
So here’s the deal:
Jupiter has nearly 100
moons.
The four largest ones
were spotted by Galileo
about 400 years ago.
One of those four -
Europa - is generally
considered to have the
best chance for life anywhere
in our solar system
other than Earth.
Why?
Lots of water.
Europa has a huge ocean
and is completely
covered in water. It’s
got more water than
Earth.
But it’s very cold, so
all that water is
covered beneath a layer
of ice.
We can tell from the
coloration of the ice
that a variety of
minerals are present. We
also believe there’s
heat coming off the
ocean floor.
That means Europa has
water + minerals + heat.
A very tempting place to
explore.
So tempting, in fact,
that about ten years ago
Congress actually passed
a law mandating that
NASA explore the planet.
After years of work,
NASA is almost done
assembling the probe:
If all goes well, it
will blast off on top of
SpaceX’s biggest rocket
this October.
Then it will travel 1.8
billion miles at a speed
of 25,000 mph for about
five years to reach
Europa.
Once it arrives, it will
spend several years
doing close passes - but
not landing. (That’s the
next mission, and it’s
also legally required.)
We’re going to learn a
lot about what’s under
the ice, but we’re also
going to look for some
deep cracks in the ice
that would serve as good
landing spots for the
next mission. That way,
drilling through the ice
- and sending a swimming
probe into the ocean
depths - will be easier
when we return.
BUT there’s
another great feature of
Europa: We think it
ejects some of its water
into space in vast,
frozen plumes. That
means the probe might be
able to fly through the
plumes, collect the
frozen water, and
analyze it - giving us a
sense of the composition
of the water without
having to land, drill,
and swim.
Obviously I have no idea
what we’ll find. Nothing
is certain.
But I am certain
that this kind of
project represents some
of the best qualities of
humanity, and our
country.
It’s extraordinary that
we’re capable of this,
that we’ve built teams
of people who are
dedicating their lives
to it, and that they’ve
overcome countless
setbacks in pursuit of
such a momentous goal.
I’m grateful to live in
a country that’s capable
of tackling this kind of
challenge.
I get why that doesn’t
make for great TV these
days. It’s the opposite
of outrage - it’s excellence,
and excellence isn’t as
addictive as outrage.
But these folks deserve
our strongest possible
thank you - and here
they are, the Europa
team at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory:
I don’t expect any of
them to read this, but
if they happen to, JOB
WELL DONE. We’re so
proud of you.
Now carry on!
Campaign update
- everyone’s
invited to a Zoom event
Each quarter our
campaign holds a Zoom
fundraiser to support my
campaign for Attorney
General. It started last
December as an
experiment to see if
anyone would attend, and
hundreds of you did. So
a tradition was born.
This one is special
because Massachusetts
Attorney General Andrea
Campbell is joining as
our guest.
We’ll focus on what to
expect as the election
gets closer: the polling,
our strategy, and the
North Carolina political
landscape. (And maybe
some discussion about
what’s going on in
Congress, since I’m
still there.)
It’ll be a very informal
conversation and it
would be great to have
you join us.
It’s on Tuesday, June
25th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
You can use this link to
get your ticket. Hope to
see you then.
Best,
Jeff Jackson
P.S. - One last
piece of joy for you.
This week, I finally got
around to hanging up the
swing in our front yard.
Marisa thought Avery
would enjoy it, but I
thought maybe she was
too old for it.
Looks like Marisa was
right:
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