Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper is a NASA mission currently in transit to Jupiter's moon Europa to investigate its habitability and subsurface ocean. Launched in late 2024, the spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of the moon to map its surface and analyze its composition for the ingredients of life.
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Identity
- Aliases
- NASA Europa Clipper
- Name
- Europa Clipper
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Europa Clipper is a NASA mission currently in transit to Jupiter's moon Europa to investigate its habitability and subsurface ocean. Launched in late 2024, the spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of the moon to map its surface and analyze its composition for the ingredients of life.
- Destination
- Jupiter orbit to conduct 49 close Europa flybys beginning after arrival at Jupiter in April 2030, studying Europa’s ice shell, subsurface ocean, and potential habitability
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Successful launch and active cruise. Europa Clipper launched on 14 October 2024 and flew past Mars on 1 March 2025 at about 884 kilometres for a gravity assist; its REASON radar successfully demonstrated operation over Mars during the encounter. The spacecraft is scheduled for an Earth gravity assist in December 2026 before reaching Jupiter in April 2030 and beginning its 49 Europa flybys in 2031.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2024-10-14
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/
- Wikipedia Url
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Clipper
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- April 12, 2026 at 22:30:56 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 8, 2026 at 09:01:09 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles