Lift up! NASA's Europa Clipper sails toward Jupiter's ocean moon

If the mission finds that Europa is habitable, it could mean that there are more habitable worlds in our solar system and beyond than previously thought.

“We are thrilled to send Europa Clipper off to explore a potentially habitable marine world, thanks to our colleagues and partners who have worked so hard to get us to this day,” said Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA in Southern California. “Europa Clipper will undoubtedly deliver breathtaking science. While it is always bittersweet to send something we have worked on for years on its long journey, we know that this remarkable team and spacecraft will expand our knowledge of our solar system and inspire future exploration.”

In 2031, the spacecraft will begin its scientific flybys of Europe. Coming up to 25 kilometers from the surface, Europa Clipper is equipped with nine scientific instruments and a gravity experiment, including an ice-penetrating radar, cameras and a thermal instrument, to search for areas of warmer ice and recent eruptions of water. Because it is the most advanced suite of scientific instruments NASA has ever sent to Jupiter, they will work together to learn more about the moon's icy shell, thin atmosphere and deep interior.

To power these instruments in the weak sunlight that reaches Jupiter, Europa Clipper also has the largest solar arrays NASA has ever used for an interplanetary mission. With expanded arrays, the spacecraft stretches 100 feet (30.5 meters) from end to end. With fuel loaded, it weighs about 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms).

In total, more than 4,000 people have contributed to the Europa Clipper mission since its official approval in 2015.

“As Europa Clipper begins its journey, I will remember the countless hours of dedication, innovation and teamwork that made this moment possible,” said Jordan Evans, project manager, NASA JPL. “This launch is not just the next chapter in our exploration of the solar system; It is a leap towards uncovering the secrets of another sea world, driven by our shared curiosity and the continuous search for an answer to the question: 'Are we alone?'”

More about Europa Clipper

Europa Clipper's three main science goals are to determine the thickness of the Moon's ice shell and its interactions with the underlying ocean, study its composition, and characterize its geology. The mission's detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA JPL is leading the development of the Europa Clipper mission in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The spacecraft's main body was designed by APL in collaboration with NASA JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia . The Planetary Missions Program Office in Marshall provides program management for the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA's Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, managed launch services for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

Further information about NASA's Europa Clipper mission can be found here:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/