On October 10th the Europa Clipper probe will leave for Jupiter to reveal the mysteries of its moons
The probe Europa Clipper approaches the final stages of preparation to ensure that it is all ready for launch. On Sunday, Sept. 22, technicians completed loading propellants into the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, within the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is scheduled to launch on Thursday, October 10 aboard a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A. Housed in the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper’s propulsion module is an aluminum cylinder 3 meters long and 1.5m wide and contains the 2,752 kg spacecraft’s array of 24 engines. propellant in two propulsion units, as well as the spacecraft’s pressurized helium tanks. The fuel and oxidizer contained in the tanks will flow to the 24 engines, creating a controlled chemical reaction to produce thrust in space during its journey to determine if there are places, which could support life.
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Towards the moons of Jupiter
Europa Clipper’s main scientific goal is to determine whether beneath the surface of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, there are places where life could exist. The three detailed science objectives of the mission are to understand the nature of the ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the composition and geology of the moon. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand beyond our planet.
NASA’s Europa Clipper space probe will perform dozens of flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, . The spacecraft, orbiting Jupiter, will perform about 50 flybys of Europa at closer approach altitudes, starting from 25 kilometers above the surface, flying over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon
After launch, the space probe plans to flyby in February 2025, then return to Earth in December 2026, using each planet’s gravity to boost its thrust. With the help of these gravitational slingshots, Europa Clipper will reach the speed needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030.
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- Follow the Europa Clipper mission on the NASA website
