On September 29th, a NASA probe will swoop over the surface of Europa, returning images and data.
Will Gater is a writer.
There will be a close-up view of the moon.
JPL-Caltech is a part of NASA.
Scientists have been looking at the frozen moon of Jupiter for more than two decades.
On September 29th, the mission will swoop to around 350 kilometres above the moon's surface to return detailed images and data.
In January 2000 NASA's Galileo swung by at a distance of 351 km, the last time a spaceship got close to the moon.
All the preparation have been completed. We are really looking forward to it. The principal investigator says everything is on target.
The flyby is unique. This will be the first time we will be able to see that region at very high resolution because it doesn't have high-resolution data from Galileo.
The scientific instruments will capture data during the rapid pass. The main camera, known as the stellar reference unit, will be used to take a very high-resolution picture of a small patch of Europa's nightside.
Researchers hope to use the flyby to get a better idea of the ice shell. "Except it's passive, so we're just looking at emission coming out, instead of sending a signal in and watching it bounce off." The data from the radiometer could give scientists clues about the depth of the shell and whether there are areas of liquid inside.
The team will look for signs of the water geysers that have been suggested by studies, though they need to be seen at the right time.
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