By Sheetal Kumari | December 15, 2024
NASA’s Europa Clipper, its largest planetary spacecraft, launches 10 October to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa for signs of habitability, travelling 1.8 billion miles.
Image Credit: NASA
Europa may have water, energy, and organic compounds, making it a strong candidate for habitable conditions beyond Earth.
Image Credit: NASA
The spacecraft will endure Jupiter’s extreme radiation, shielded by a specialised vault to protect its sensitive electronics.
Image Credit: NASA
Europa Clipper will complete 49 close flybys of Europa, limiting exposure to Jupiter’s intense radiation zones.
Image Credit: NASA
Europa Clipper carries nine sophisticated instruments and a gravity experiment to analyse Europa’s interior, composition, and geology.
Image Credit: NASA
With solar arrays deployed, the spacecraft measures 100 feet, making it NASA’s largest for a planetary mission.
Image Credit: NASA
Europa Clipper will travel 1.8 billion miles over 5.5 years, arriving at Jupiter in 2030 using Mars and Earth’s gravity assists.
Image Credit: NASA
Over 4,000 contributors from the U.S. and Europe, including scientists, engineers, and contractors, support the mission.
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The spacecraft carries a poem, millions of names, and “water” waveforms in 100 languages as a global tribute.
Image Credit: NASA