Europa Lander Mission Analysis: non-Keplerian Approach for Radiation Exposure Mitigation

According to recent analyses, Europa has been identified as one of the most promising candidates as a life-hosting celestial body thanks to the presence of a vast and oxygenated underground ocean. Many mission analyses have been designed to reach that moon, but none really mitigates the exposition to the harsh and radioactive environment of the inner Jovian magnetosphere. This paper shows how it is possible to reduce significantly that risk by exploiting a non-Keplerian trajectory based on two nested Circular Restricted 3 Bodies Problems with Ganymede and Europa, also increasing the flexibility of the mission.