Monthly Meeting: September 10, 2026 – Europa Clipper & the Search for Life on Ocean Worlds
The meeting will take place on September 10, 2026 at 7 PM on Zoom and at the Robinson Nature Center.
Europa Clipper & the Search for Life on Ocean Worlds
Presented by Dr. Kate Craft
Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Robinson Nature Center and via Zoom
Join the Howard Astronomical League as we explore NASA’s Europa Clipper mission—its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, the science of habitability, and future missions to ocean worlds that could discover life beyond Earth.
About the Talk
Launched in October 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper has set out on a journey to explore the habitability of Jupiter’s icy ocean world Europa. After a 5½-year cruise that includes gravity assists at Mars and Earth—the Earth flyby will occur on December 3, 2026—the spacecraft will enter orbit around Jupiter and perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa over a four-year period.
The Europa Clipper mission will assess Europa’s habitability by characterizing its ice shell and ocean, composition, and geology. The mission will also investigate cross-cutting science topics, including searching for evidence of current or recent activity: Are there plumes or cryovolcanism? Europa Clipper will also perform reconnaissance for a potential future landed mission.
Ten science instruments onboard the spacecraft will make observations and measurements, each with its own specialized designs and accommodations for operating in Europa’s harsh environment.
Future missions to ocean worlds include NASA’s Dragonfly mission, scheduled to launch to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2028. Dragonfly will analyze samples and determine how far chemistry has progressed toward life in Titan’s cold, methane- and ethane-rich environment.
Concepts for additional missions—including Europa Lander, Enceladus Orbilander, plume fly-through orbiters, and ocean-world cryobots—have also been studied. These missions would send biosignature-detection instruments to sample these environments and seek signs of life.
Although these instruments and technologies require further development to operate in the harsh and challenging environments of ocean worlds, the technology is possible—and could enable us to make the first discoveries of life outside Earth!
About Dr. Kate Craft
Dr. Kate Craft is a scientist on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. She works across the instrument and project teams to optimize the mission’s science measurements and calibrations and currently serves as co-chair of the Habitability Assessment Board.
Kate is also deeply interested in enabling the detection of life in our solar system. Toward this end, she leads the development of several sample-preparation technologies and performs fieldwork and modeling of terrestrial extreme environments.
Outside of work, Kate enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, running, and being in nature.
Read Dr. Craft’s JHU Applied Physics Laboratory profile
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/22/2026
Past Monthly Meeting: August 13, 2026 – Working the Mission: An Inside Look at NASA’s Artemis Science Team
Artifacts: Meeting PDF and YouTube Video
The meeting took place on August 13, 2026 at 7 PM on Zoom and at the Robinson Nature Center.
HAL August Monthly Meeting
Our August meeting, is open to both HAL members and the public.
After generating strong interest with his pre-Artemis II update, HAL’s own Ernie Wright returns to walk us through the operational heartbeat of a NASA mission. Learn how the science team collaborates with flight controllers, how training prepares astronauts and ground crews alike, and what it’s like to contribute to mission success from inside Mission Control.
In addition to the featured presentation, we will enjoy our popular Book of the Month and Shallow Skies segments.
We hope you will join us for an evening of astronomy, Space, and shared discovery.
Public Sun Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/12/2026
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 1:15 PM, we will have a meetup to view the partial solar eclipse.
All are welcome!
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 7/25/2026
What a great night at Alpha Ridge last night! I counted almost 100 cars in the lots and lining the entry road at one point. Guests came early and stayed late. Cub Scout Pack 706 from Reisterstown were our only announced group of guests.
Members’ scopes ranging in size from a SeeStar S3 to Dale’s big dob with about 20 scopes in between dotted the plaza and parking lots. A waning gibbous Venus and waxing gibbous moon were highlights of the early evening. Krystal and new HAL intern Maddie drove the Illig, and co-host Bianca rolled out the 16” Meade and had a line all evening.
Thank to all HAL members for making our public star parties memorable. It’s a tribute to us all that we have so many return attendees.
Joel Goodman
Our Meetings
HAL General Meetings (Open to the Public) are held from 7:00PM to approximately 9:00 on the 3rd Thursday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
HAL Planning Meetings (Open to all Members) to discuss future club direction, events, meeting topics, outreach, etc. are open to all members. They are usually held from 7:00 to 8:00PM on the 1st Monday of every month via Zoom (until further notice).
Star Parties
HAL’s public star parties at Alpha Ridge Park (normally held from March through October or early November) feature a relaxed, casual atmosphere where club members, other amateur astronomers from the area, and the public are all welcome to come and enjoy the wonders of the night sky.
Astroschool
Astroschool is usually held on the 2nd Thursday of most months at the Robinson Nature Center. Start and end times vary, but are approximately 6:30 to 8:30pm.