Exploration of Jupiter its first Large mission, replacing its contribution to EJSM, the "Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter" (JGO). The partnership for the Europa Jupiter System Mission has since ended, but NASA will continue to contribute the European mission with hardware and an instrument. The "Europa Clipper" is a mission proposed to NASA to focus on studying Jupiter's moon Europa. In March 2013, funds were authorized for "pre-formulation and/or formulation activities for a mission that meets the science goals outlined for the Jupiter Europa mission in the most recent planetary decadal survey". The proposed mission would be set to launch in the early 2020s and
Volcanology of Mars through many episodes of magmatic reprocessing. Evolved igneous rocks are much less common on cold, dead bodies such as the Moon. Mars, being intermediate in size between the Earth and the Moon, is thought to be intermediate in its level of magmatic activity. At shallower depths in the crust, the lithostatic pressure on the magma body decreases. The reduced pressure can cause gases (volatiles), such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, to exsolve from the melt into a froth of gas bubbles. The nucleation of bubbles causes a rapid expansion and cooling of the surrounding melt, producing glassy shards that