ST. LOUIS, July 19, 2004 -- A Boeing-led team of engineers and program planners is working with JPL on a groundbreaking initiative that heralds a new era in space science and exploration. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft would be the nation's first nuclear fission reactor-powered scientific spacecraft. It is part of NASA's Project Prometheus, the space agency's endeavor to develop safe nuclear power and high-efficiency electric propulsion to open the solar system. With the planet Jupiter as its backdrop, this artist's rendering shows JIMO orbiting the ice-covered Jovian satellites Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. One purpose of the mission is to begin studying the subsurface water ocean suspected to exist on Europa, which could harbor simple extraterrestrial life. JIMO would be the first probe to have the power to orbit multiple planetary objects for weeks at a time.
