Europa Clipper's Mission to Jupiter’s Icy Moon Confirmed
An icy ocean world in our solar system that could tell us more about the potential for life on other worlds is coming into focus with confirmation of the EuropaClipper mission’s next phase. The decision allows the mission to progress to completion of final design, followed by the construction and testing of the entire spacecraft and science payload.
The mission will conduct an in-depth exploration of Jupiter's moon, Europa, and investigate whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life, honing our insights into astrobiology. To develop this mission in the most cost-effective fashion, NASA is targeting to have the Europa Clipper spacecraft complete and ready for launch as early as 2023. The agency baseline commitment, however, supports a launch readiness date by 2025.
The solar-powered spacecraft would orbit the giant planet about every two weeks, providing many opportunities for close flybys of the icy moon.
In total, the orbiter would perform 45 flybys at altitudes ranging from 16 miles to 1,700 miles (25 km to 2,700 km), imaging the Europa’s icy surface at high resolution and investigating its composition and the structure of its interior and icy shell. nasa.gov | sci-news.com
