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Official Europa Clipper patch

Space probes·NASA

Europa Clipper

In transitLaunched in 2024·En route to Jupiter

A spacecraft dedicated to Europa, Jupiter's moon whose global subsurface ocean is one of the best candidates for life.

Main objectives

Characterize Europa's ocean and its potential habitability.
Map the ice and any possible geysers.
Prepare future landing missions to Europa.

Did you know?

It will perform ~50 close flybys of Europa — rather than orbiting directly — to limit radiation exposure.

Timeline

Oct 14, 2024

Launch

Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center.

Apr 11, 2030

Jupiter orbit insertion

Jan 01, 2031

Start of Europa flybys

Instruments

[05]

EIS

Dual-camera imaging system for stereoscopic and color surface maps

E-THEMIS

Infrared thermal imager detecting surface heat anomalies

MISE

Infrared imaging spectrometer mapping ices, salts, and organics

REASON

Ice-penetrating radar sounding the subsurface ocean and ice shell structure

MASPEX

Mass spectrometer analyzing atmospheric gases and potential plumes

Specifications

Mass6,065 kg

Solar panels102 m² (absolute record)

Discoveries

[02]

Mission milestones

[03]

Official sources

NASA Europa Clipper↗