On May 23, 2024, the Europa Clipper probe has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center of NASA, Florida. The vehicle, assembled at JPL in Southern California, landed aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft at the KSC launch and landing facility.
Technical teams spent several hours unloading the Europa Clipper, before transferring it to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Here they will integrate the vehicle with the two large solar panels, which arrived at KSC in March, which will be installed before launch. Finally, they will perform final checks as part of pre-launch preparations.
A mission for Europe
Europa Clipper is an ambitious and scientifically valuable interplanetary mission designed to investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and its potential conditions suitable for supporting life. It aims to collect detailed measurements of the moon’s surface, interior and space environment performing approximately 50 close flybyssome just 25 km from its surface, hiding a global ocean beneath the ice crust.
The probe’s large solar panels, each 14.2 meters long and divided into five different panels, will collect enough sunlight to power the probe on its journey to the Jupiter system. The vehicle was also designed to withstand the impact of radiation from Jupiter and collect the measurements needed to investigate Europa’s surface, interior and space environment.
Europa Clipper has nine dedicated scientific instruments: cameras, spectrometers, a magnetometer and an ice-penetrating radar. These instruments will study Europa’s icy shell, the ocean beneath it, the composition of gases in the lunar atmosphere and the geology of the surface, and provide information on the Moon’s potential habitability. The spacecraft will also carry a thermal instrument, to pinpoint the locations of warmer ice and any possible eruptions of water vapor on the surface.
All ready for launch
After two years of work on the various components at JPL, the Europa Clipper is now fully assembled (except for the panels), and enclosed in a container, it has successfully reached Florida on schedule.
In the next weeks several tests will be performed, to ensure that all ground and flight requirements are met. Once final testing and preparations are complete, the vehicle will be encapsulated in a protective payload fairing and moved to the SpaceX hangar at the launch complex. Here it will be integrated with a Falcon Heavy carrier, which will launch it into space in a few months.
Currently, the launch window opens on October 10 and closes on October 31, 2024. If launched within this period, Europa Clipper is expected to reach the Jupiter system in April 2030. During its journey, it will perform a flyby of Mars in February 2025 which will allow it to accelerate towards its destination.
For all information on this mission –> History and details of one of the most anticipated missions of 2024: Europa Clipper
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