Searching for Life
Europa Clipper is NASA's flagship mission to investigate whether Jupiter's moon Europa has conditions suitable for life. Beneath Europa's ice shell lies a global ocean containing roughly twice the water of all Earth's oceans. The spacecraft will conduct 49 close flybys, passing as low as 25 km above the surface.
The Instruments
The spacecraft carries nine science instruments including ice-penetrating radar, a thermal emission imaging system, and a mass spectrometer. At 30.5 metres tip-to-tip across its solar arrays, Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission.
Mission Timeline
2024-10-14
Launch on Falcon Heavy
2025-03
Mars gravity assist
2026-12
Earth gravity assist
2030-04
Jupiter orbit insertion
2030–2034
49 Europa flybys over 4 years