JPL-Managed Europa Clipper Mission Set for Historic Launch Monday Morning

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena is poised to make history as National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Europa Clipper spacecraft prepares for its Monday morning launch. The mission aims to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, searching for potential ingredients of life in its subsurface ocean.

The spacecraft, the largest ever built by National Aeronautics and Space Administration for a planetary mission spanning 100 feet (30.5 meters) tip to tip, is scheduled to launch on October 14 at 9:06 a.m. from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The original October 10 launch date was delayed due to impacts from Hurricane Milton.

JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and other National Aeronautics and Space Administration centers, including Goddard Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Langley Research Center. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the mission.

The spacecraft will embark on a 1.8 billion mile (2.9 billion kilometer) journey to Jupiter, looping around Mars and Earth to gain speed. It’s expected to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030, with science-focused flybys of Europa beginning in 2031. The mission will conduct 49 flybys, coming as close as 16 miles to Europa’s surface.

Europa Clipper’s orbit is designed to maximize science opportunities while minimizing exposure to Jupiter’s intense radiation. The spacecraft carries nine science instruments and is loaded with over 6,060 pounds (2,750 kilograms) of propellant.

The mission’s primary objectives include determining the thickness of Europa’s icy shell, investigating its composition, and characterizing its geology. These goals are crucial in assessing whether Europa could potentially harbor life. Scientists suspect Europa may contain twice as much liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined, along with organic compounds essential for life.

While not a life-detection mission, Europa Clipper will search for ingredients necessary for life: water, chemistry, and energy. This exploration will help determine if Europa is a promising candidate for future life-detection missions.

The launch will utilize a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. After launch, the spacecraft will deploy its massive solar arrays and undergo a three-month initial checkout and commissioning phase.

As the countdown begins, JPL engineers and scientists are finalizing preparations for this groundbreaking mission. The successful launch of Europa Clipper will mark another milestone in JPL’s long history of planetary exploration and further cement Pasadena’s role in pushing the boundaries of space science.

For more information, the visit europa.nasa.gov.