Europa

Astrobiology Explorer Europa Clipper’s Trajectory To Jupiter

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
NASA
November 27, 2024
Filed under , ,
Astrobiology Explorer Europa Clipper’s Trajectory To Jupiter

On its journey to the Jupiter system, NASA’s Europa Clipper will take a path that swings past Mars, then Earth, using the gravity of each planet as a slingshot to boost the spacecraft’s speed.

All told, the journey will take about 5½ years, covering a distance of about 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers).

In this diagram, the orbits of Jupiter, Mars, and Earth are shown as concentric rings. Europa Clipper was launched 14 October 2024. It will conduct a gravity assist flyby of Mars in March 2025 followed by another at Earth in December 2026.

The spacecraft is scheduled to begin orbiting Jupiter on April 11, 2030. Then it will begin its investigation of the gas giant’s icy moon Europa.

Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology.

The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Astrobiology

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