NASA’s Europa Clipper mission has successfully deployed its first science instruments as it travels toward Jupiter’s moon Europa, a prime candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life due to its suspected subsurface ocean, Space.com reports.
Launched on October 14 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the spacecraft has already traveled 13 million miles (20 million kilometers) from Earth, moving at a speed of 22 miles per second (35 kilometers per second) relative to the sun.
Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. Over the course of its 1.8-billion-mile (2.9-billion-kilometer) journey, it will arrive at Jupiter in 2030 and begin a series of 49 close flybys of Europa in 2031. The mission aims to assess whether the moon’s icy crust and underlying ocean have the conditions necessary to support life.
“Europa Clipper will use a suite of instruments to gather data that will tell scientists if the icy moon and its internal ocean have the conditions needed to harbor life.” NASA officials stated.
The spacecraft’s large solar arrays, which extend the length of a basketball court, are already operational and collecting sunlight to power the mission.
The spacecraft recently deployed its magnetometer boom and radar antennas, crucial components for its scientific mission. The magnetometer boom, which measures 28 feet (8.5 meters) in length, successfully uncoiled from a canister on the spacecraft. This instrument will measure Europa’s magnetic field, aiding scientists in confirming the existence of a subsurface ocean and determining its depth and salinity.
Additionally, the radar system, designed to penetrate Europa’s icy shell, includes four high-frequency antennas and eight very-high-frequency antennas, extending up to 57.7 feet (17.6 meters) and 9 feet (2.76 meters), respectively. Engineering data sent back to Earth confirmed these instruments deployed as expected.
“It’s an exciting time on the spacecraft, getting these key deployments done. Most of what the team is focusing on now is understanding the small, interesting things in the data that help them understand the behavior of the spacecraft on a deeper level,” said Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In December and January, seven more instruments will be tested as part of ongoing hardware checks. These tests will ensure the spacecraft’s readiness for its primary mission in the Jovian system.
To reach its destination, Europa Clipper will use gravity assists, first from Mars in March 2025 and later from Earth in December 2026. These maneuvers will increase the spacecraft’s speed and refine its trajectory. During the Mars flyby, the mission team will conduct additional radar tests and turn on the spacecraft’s thermal imager to capture multicolored images of the Red Planet.
The final Earth flyby will be critical for calibrating the magnetometer by measuring Earth’s magnetic field, preparing the instrument for its key task of studying Europa’s magnetic environment.
