Europa Clipper

En Route

NASA's largest planetary science spacecraft ever built, en route to study Jupiter's moon Europa and its subsurface ocean. Successfully completed Mars gravity assist on March 1, 2025. Will perform detailed reconnaissance to assess Europa's habitability with 49 planned Europa flybys.

Type

Jupiter System Orbiter

Launch Date

10/14/2024

Location

En Route to Jupiter (Expected Arrival: April 2030)

Live Journey Position

Mission Achievements

✓Successfully launched on Falcon Heavy rocket (October 14, 2024)
✓Completed Mars gravity assist maneuver (March 1, 2025)
✓All instruments deploying nominally
✓Largest planetary mission spacecraft by mass
✓Advanced ice-penetrating radar system
✓Solar-powered despite Jupiter's distance from Sun
✓Earth gravity assist scheduled December 3, 2026

Mission Objectives

▸Characterize Europa's ice shell and subsurface ocean
▸Determine ocean depth and salinity
▸Study surface composition and geology
▸Investigate potential plumes of water vapor
▸Assess habitability potential
▸Map Europa's magnetic field

Scientific Instruments

•REASON: Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding - ice-penetrating radar
•EIS: Europa Imaging System - wide and narrow angle cameras
•E-THEMIS: Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System - infrared camera
•ECM: Europa Clipper Magnetometer - magnetic field measurements
•PIMS: Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding - ion and electron detector
•SUDA: SUrface Dust Analyzer - mass spectrometer for plume particles