NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab may select a prime contractor later this year to develop and build the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), the first potential space science mission in NASA's Project Prometheus. JIMO could begin its odyssey to explore the Jovian moons sometime after 2011.

Last year a Boeing-led team was awarded a $6 million contract with an additional $5 million option to study deep space propulsion systems for JIMO. The full-scale development contract may include options for three additional mission spacecraft, carrying the outer solar system “flagship” program through at least 2030.

The project proposes to develop advanced space nuclear power and electric propulsion technologies. Past and current deep-space probes rely on low-powered nuclear batteries -- radioisotope thermoelectric generators -- to convert heat into electricity. Mission managers carefully time their launches with planetary alignments to “sling shot” the probes around the solar system to reach their destinations and to maximize the scientific payload for each probe.

“Prometheus and JIMO offer the chance to change the way we explore space,” said Joe Mills, Boeing vice president and program manager for JIMO. “It comes down to energy. If we have more on-board power, then we could build larger, more capable spacecraft that can travel more freely to remote destinations, maneuver when they get there, and accomplish far more science.”

Planetary scientists postulate that three of Jupiter’s largest moons – Callisto, Ganymede and Europa -- might have water oceans underneath their frozen surfaces. These harsh and briny seas could harbor chemical nutrients and sources of energy. Put these together and you have the necessary components for life as we currently understand it.

A Jupiter voyage is ambitious, and developing the means to travel and explore there may be equally challenging.

Nuclear power remains controversial, including its use for space exploration, but Project Prometheus aims to develop reactors that will be launched cold, would be able to survive intact an inadvertent re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and would not be turned on to operate until they were safely in Earth orbit or beyond.

“To perform the type of missions NASA wants, nuclear power has to be strongly considered,” said Mills, who holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from UCLA.

Boeing took a best-of-industry approach to build its JIMO team. The pursuit, one of Boeing’ highest priorities, is led by NASA Systems as part of the company’s overall strategy to become a leading space science supplier to NASA. Before joining JIMO, Mills led Boeing’s International Space Station program. Phantom Works is executing the Phase A study contract, with significant participation by experts from Boeing sites in Houston and California: Canoga Park, El Segundo, Torrance and Huntington Beach.

Other team members are: BWX Technologies Inc., a division of McDermott Inc., which handles the team’s reactor technologies and design and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which brings deep space experience to the team and a long heritage providing scientific instruments to NASA.

Boeing has a unique heritage in large-scale space systems and payload integration from a wide range of civil, military and commercial spacecraft and satellite programs, including NASA’s most complex systems such as the International Space Station.

Boeing is also world-class in JIMO critical technologies. The Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power and Atomics International heritage leads in space nuclear power integration, power conversion methods, and high-power power management systems. In addition to several Project Prometheus technology contracts, Rocketdyne is currently working on a next generation radioisotope power source under a recently awarded NASA contract, for use on missions like the planned Mars Surface Laboratory in 2009.

Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices and Boeing Satellite Systems lead in operational electric propulsion experience and long-lived spacecraft. Boeing has built all of NASA’s electric propulsion systems.

Mills and the Boeing partner team are preparing to present their initial findings to NASA in late fall, and then return to further research and study. “I’m excited about the exploration of Jupiter’s icy moons and unlocking their secrets,” he said. “Understanding the conditions for life in our solar system is one of the great adventures of our time.”