The Mission
Let’s go to the Moon. Well, not our Moon, but Europa, one of Jupiter's 95 moons. NASA recently launched their Europa Clipper mission on October 14, 2024 and it is on a journey to explore Europa. It is the first mission that is designed to conduct a detailed study of Europa, and there is already scientific evidence that the ingredients necessary for life may exist on Europa. This spacecraft will reach Jupiter in April 2030 after traveling 1.8 billion miles. It will conduct 49 close flybys of Europa as the spacecraft orbits around Jupiter.
The Spacecraft
Europa Clipper is a solar-powered spacecraft and it spans more than one hundred feet when its solar panels are deployed. At launch, it will weigh about 13,000 pounds, with about 6,000 of those pounds being propellant. It will first fly by Mars, and then back by Earth, as it will use the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum and gain the velocity needed to reach Jupiter. It contains 24 engines and has 9 dedicated science instruments. Furthermore, it boasts a newly created 10 foot high-gain antenna which will allow for data and images to be sent from Europa to Earth.