Europa Clipper Archives

JWST/NIRSpec integrated spectra and 1σ uncertainties (gray error bars) of Callisto’s leading (purple) and trailing (red) hemisphere, normalized to 1 at 3.82 μm and offset vertically for clarity. The G395H grating has a ~0.1 μm wide wavelength gap, shifting between ~4 and 4.2 μm across NIRSpec IFU’s 29 image slices. Some of the image slices that span Callisto’s disk include wavelength coverage between ~4 and 4.2 μm, which are shown here for Callisto’s leading (bright blue) and trailing (bright orange) hemispheres. All spectral features identified in this study are labeled, with dotted lines indicating their central wavelengths. Features with confirmed compositions have bolded labels, whereas weak features, or those with multiple compositional interpretations, are italicized and followed by question marks. Possible bands and spectral structure at wavelength >4.98 μm may result from data calibration artifacts and are not analyzed in this study. The inset box shows a close-up of the 4.19 to 4.42 μm wavelength range, highlighting the CO2 features we have identified and the different band centers for 12CO2 on Callisto’s leading (4.254 μm) and trailing (4.250 μm) hemisphere, as well as a feature near 4.3 μm that may result from an isotope of CO2 or could be a residual solar line (Appendix A.3). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report

Revealing Callisto’s Carbon-rich Surface And CO2 Atmosphere With JWST

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2024January 31, 2024

We analyzed spectral cubes of Callisto’s leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with the NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit (G395H) on the James Webb Space Telescope.

Engineers and technicians install Europa Clipper’s high-gain antenna in the main clean room at JPL. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech larger image

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

High-gain Antenna Installed On The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Probe

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2023May 27, 2024

The addition of a high-gain antenna will enable the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft in August 2023 – set to launch in October 2024 – to communicate with mission controllers hundreds […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Can Signs Of Life Be Detected On Enceladus?

by Keith CowingDecember 6, 2023December 6, 2023

As astrophysics technology and research continue to advance, one question persists: is there life elsewhere in the universe? The Milky Way galaxy alone has hundreds of billions of celestial bodies, […]

Europa is a global system with different interacting regions and processes. Europa Clipper will provide an unprecedented view into those processes, providing clues to the overturning of the ice and ocean, and the chemistry of the deeper interior. Artist credit: D. Hinkle

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Investigating Europa’s Habitability with the Europa Clipper

by Keith CowingNovember 29, 2023May 27, 2024

Jupiter’s moon Europa is one the most promising candidates for hosting life today among ocean worlds in the solar system.

Education and Outreach, Europa, Status Report

Message In A Bottle: Send Your Name To Europa

by Keith CowingOctober 30, 2023October 30, 2023

Join the mission and have your name engraved on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft as it travels 1.8 billion miles to explore Europa, an ocean world that may support life.

Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Combining Astrometry and JUICE — Europa Clipper Radio Science To Improve The Ephemerides Of The Galilean Moons

by Keith CowingJuly 31, 2023May 27, 2024

The upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions to Jupiter’s Galilean satellites will provide radio science tracking measurements of both spacecraft. Such data are expected to significantly help estimating the moons’ […]

Education and Outreach, Europa, Missions & Hardware, Societal Issues, Status Report, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts

Video: U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón Unveils Her Poem for Europa

by Keith CowingJune 2, 2023September 18, 2025

Poet Laureate Ada Limón read her poem for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and talked with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden; Nicola Fox, associate administrator of the NASA Science Mission Directorate; […]

The “Message in a Bottle” campaign offers everyone the opportunity to have their name stenciled onto a microchip bearing U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.” The chip will ride aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter and its moon Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrobiology (general), Education and Outreach, Europa, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

NASA Invites The Public To Sign A Poem That Will Fly Aboard Europa Clipper

by Keith CowingJune 2, 2023May 27, 2024

Members of the public are invited to add their names to an original poem dedicated to NASA’s Europa Clipper mission before the spacecraft begins its journey to Jupiter’s moon Europa […]

Engineers and technicians work on the towering main body of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A new video series lifts the curtain on the clean room and shows audiences what goes into building space missions. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Europa, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts

A New Video Series Documents The Europa Clipper Astrobiology Mission

by Keith CowingMay 2, 2023May 27, 2024

Destined for Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, the Europa Clipper spacecraft – the largest NASA has ever flown on an interplanetary mission – is being readied to launch in October 2024.

The Europa Imaging System Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) will allow NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to capture views of Jupiter’s moon Europa in unparalleled detail, bringing us nearer to answering the question of whether the icy moon can potentially harbor life. Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Craig Weiman

Europa, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Europa Imaging System Narrow-Angle Camera Delivered to JPL

by Keith CowingApril 14, 2023April 14, 2023

After years of work to design, build, and run tests, engineers and scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) bid farewell to the Europa Imaging System (EIS) Narrow-Angle […]