Europa Clipper: NASA's mission to Jupiter's icy moon (Pre-mission)

December 2020 illustration of Europa Clipper. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Launch Date: October 10, 2024

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Florida, United States

Launch Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

Mission Type: Orbiter/Flyby (Will orbit Jupiter, and flyby Europa)

Target: Europa

Dimensions: 3 Meters by 1.5 Meters

Mass: 2750 Kilograms (Propellant Only)

Europa Clipper is NASA's upcoming mission to investigate Jupiter's moon Europa. The Voyager, Galileo, and Juno missions have previously imaged and studied Europa, but this mission will be the first one dedicated to Europa.

The Mission

The main goal of Europa Clipper is to confirm the presence of Europa's subsurface ocean. Scientists have speculated that Europa must have a liquid ocean beneath its surface for decades now. In 2012, the Hubble Space Telescope detected possible geysers eminating from Europa's south pole, which is substancial evidence for an ocean beneath the surface. Europa Clipper will also look for evidence of the elements needed for life: hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur.

Hubble's image of Europa water plume. Image of Europa from combined Voyager and Galileo data. Credit: NASA/ESA/L. Roth/SwRI/University of Cologne

Europa Clipper was first proposed in 2013 as the "Jupiter in resonance with Europa's orbit" concept. This refers to the orbital maneuvers Europa Clipper will use to keep itself safe from the intense radiation of Jupiter, while maximizing science at Europa. There was also a Europa lander proposal put out at around the same time, but this seems unlikely to happen any time soon (in otherwords: decades).

In 2015, NASA selected this concept, as well as the scientific instuments that would go on board. In 2017 the spacecraft and mission profile went through their design phase. During this time, illustrations and animations depicted a longer, larger, spacecraft than the current variant. Later in the year, Europa Clipper was officially named. "Clipper" refers to the 19th century sailing vessels of the same name.

Europa Clipper was originally intended, in fact mandated, to fly on NASA's new SLS rocket. Due to delays in the rocket's production however, it was moved over to SpaceXs Falcon Heavy. SLS will likely only ever be used for NASA's Artemis program moon missions from now on.

Europa Clipper under construction. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Over the last two years, Europa Clipper has undergone immense testing and construction, and will be completed in the coming months. After launch, hopefully around October next year, Europa Clipper will begin its interplanetary journey. Sometime in February of 2025, Europa Clipper will make a gravity assist of Mars. In December of 2026, Europa Clipper will make another gravity assist at Earth.

In April 2030, Europa Clipper will make its orbital insertion around Jupiter, and begin its science operations. To adjust its orbit, Europa Clipper will make several flybys of the other Galilean moons in the solar system, potentially making science observations alongside ESA's JUICE spacecraft. In spring of 2031, Europa Clipper will make the first of many Europa flybys. During some of these flybys, Europa Clipper may get as close as 25 kilometres from the surface.

Europa Clipper will have two main science campaigns. The first one, starting in May of 2031, will focus on the antiJupiter side of Europa (the side facing away from Jupiter). Two years later, Europa Clipper will focus on the proJupiter (Jupiter facing) side of Europa. After these flybys are completed, Europa Clipper will have completed its mission goals. It may have a mission extension or two if the spacecraft is healthy, but the current plan is to perhaps crash it into the largest moon, Ganymede, at the end of the mission. 

This is to avoid possible contamination of Europa's surface with Earth microbes that could have survived on the spacecraft (however, due to the intense radiation environment of Jupiter, this is extraordinarily unlikely. But sometimes it's better to be on the safe side, just in case). ESA's JUICE spacecraft, which at that point will hopefully be orbiting around Ganymede, would get to observe Europa Clipper's crash from orbit. This would give scientists a possible peak at Ganymede's subsurface material.

The Target

Image of Europa from Juno. Credit; NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Björn Jónsson

• Date Discovered: 1610
• Radius: 1590.8 Kilometres
• Mass: 4.7998x10^22 Kilograms
• Density: 3.013 g/cm^3
• Rotational Period: 3.55 Days
• Orbital Period: 3.55 Days