By Lisa Carolin
Chelsea area resident Steve Rogacki will be closely following NASA’s Oct. 10, launch of the Europa Clipper from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
That’s because he has a vested interest in the mission.
Rogacki, a recently retired University of Michigan Electrical Engineer, is one of the scientists who worked on the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), which will study the density, temperature, and flow of plasma near Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life.
According to NASA, “PIMS will help correct the magnetic induction signal for plasma distortions around Europa, which is the key to precisely determining Europa’s ice shell thickness, ocean depth, and conductivity.”
“Understanding these characteristics will help drive the investigation looking for possible life in the Europa ocean,” said Rogacki. “And to see precise data come back from an instrument I helped to create will be very exciting and gratifying.”
Rogacki was hired at the University of Michigan Space Physics Research Lab in 1998 to work on the TIDI (TIMED Doppler Interferometer) instrument, which orbits the earth to take wind speed measurements in the upper atmosphere. The U-M lab predates NASA having begun right after WWII and is well respected for its design and building of scientific instruments. Rogacki, who came from a background in industrial control systems, had a lot to learn about the space environment.
“Any physical object mounted on a rocket has to survive the shock and vibration of a launch, and design constraints include using only electronic parts that have been qualified for the space environment, minimizing mass, power consumption, and for deep space missions a tiny data pipeline back to Earth,” said Rogacki.
PIMS is described as a relatively simple instrument comprised of four sensors called Faraday cups that are 3-inches deep and 8-inches wide that will measure plasmas, which are electrically charged gases. The measurements will help to decipher the properties of Europa’s subsurface ocean.
The Europa Clipper, which spans 100 feet and weighs 13,000 pounds, is a solar powered spacecraft and will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket scheduled to reach Jupiter in 2030.
In addition, Rogacki is involved in a number of other projects including the CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System) mission, which is measuring hurricanes in real time, and he is contributing to the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer Instrument, which will be sent to Mars onboard the Rosalind Franklin rover to be launched in 2028.
“It has been my great privilege to contribute to basic scientific research and these fantastic missions of exploration,” said Rogacki.
