Europa Jupiter System Mission – Laplace
The Europa Jupiter System Mission – Laplace (EJSM-Laplace) was a proposed joint NASA/ESA uncrewed space mission slated to launch around 2020 for the in-depth exploration of Jupiter's moons with a focus on Europa, Ganymede and Jupiter's magnetosphere. The mission would have comprised at least two independent elements, NASA's Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO) and ESA's Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter (JGO), to perform coordinated studies of the Jovian system.
Artist concept of the Europa Jupiter System Mission: Jupiter Europa Orbiter (top) and Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter (bottom). | |
| Mission type | Multiple orbiters and lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | Proposed joint NASA / ESA |
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Roscosmos (Russian Space Agency) had expressed their interest in contributing to EJSM-Laplace, although no deals had been finalized. JEO was estimated to cost US$4.7 billion, while ESA would spend US$1.0 billion (€710 million) on JGO.
In April 2011, European Space Agency (ESA) stated that it seemed unlikely that a joint US–European mission will happen in the early 2020s given NASA's budget, so ESA continued with its initiative, called the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) that will be based on the JGO design. Selection of JUICE for the L1 launch slot of ESA's Cosmic Vision science programme was announced on 2 May 2012. JUICE was launched on 14 April 2023.
Later, in June 2015, NASA approved the Europa Clipper and it entered the formulation stage, with an expected launch in October 2024.