Europa Clipper: NASA's Largest Spacecraft Sets Sail
- Kyle Averill
- Oct 15, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 29
On October 14th, 2024, Europa Clipper, a NASA Flagship mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket. This Falcon Heavy marked the 11th launch of the world’s most powerful operational rocket, but this launch marked the first time a NASA Flagship planetary science mission had launched using reusable side boosters.
Those side boosters (B1064 and B1065) last launched the NASA Discovery Mission Psyche on October 13th, 2023, 367 days prior to Europa Clipper. Those boosters not only launched Psyche roughly a year earlier, but the Europa Clipper launch would mark the 6th time those boosters were used. Given the unique requirements for outer solar system space flight these boosters were expended but their reuse history and reliability is notable particularly given NASA's Flagship mission investment.
Europa Clipper, a multi-billion mission delayed from October 10th, due to hurricane Milton, executed an instantaneous launch, lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A at 12:06 p.m. EDT, October 14, 2024. The launch window, opening on October 10th and the instantaneous launch were planned to ensure a fixed date arrival at Jupiter on April 11th, 2030, and considered Mars and Earth gravity assist requirements. Once its massive solar panels were fully deployed after launch, Europa Clipper, with a panel span over 100 feet, became the largest spacecraft in NASA’s history. A first.
Europa Clipper is also NASA's first dedicated mission to Europa. Historically, NASA missions; Pioneer, Voyager and Galileo executed flybys of Europa, but Clipper marks the first dedicated mission to Europa while continuing to build upon the work of previous missions. Juno currently orbiting Jupiter for example, has and is providing valuable data on Europa including the most recent imagery available. Europa’s relatively smooth surface reflects more sunlight than any other moon in the solar system except Saturn's moon Enceladus which has a reflectivity rating of almost 100%. Also, like Enceladus where some areas of the moon are free from impact craters, Europa's virtually non-existent craters suggests frequent resurfacing. This resurfacing is caused by subsurface ocean water escaping to reach and flood the surface. We have Cassini imagery of geysers spraying water vapor into space from Enceladus and recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope suggests there may be faint geysers on Europa as well. Clipper should help advance our knowledge of this process on Europa.
Europa Clipper’s five and a half year cruise is schedule to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030 and begin its 4 year prime mission. Given the intense radiation of Jupiter, Europa Clipper like its predecessors will not orbit Europa but conduct 49 flybys to mitigate the effects of Jupiter’s radiation. Clipper will also conduct flybys of Ganymede, the largest Moon in our solar system and Callisto, Jupiter's second largest moon and third largest in the solar system. There is Galileo data that suggests Ganymede is also a potential Ocean World and Callisto, orbiting far enough away from Jupiter beyond reach of its most intense radiation, could some day serve as a rest stop for future exploration.
While these flybys provide time and distance to limit radiation exposure, Clipper also carries with it an aluminum-zinc alloy vault for it’s sensitive electronics providing additional protection from Jupiter’s radiation wrath. Radiation exposure mitigations; time, distance and shielding are critical to ensure mission success, and perhaps like many other NASA missions create the opportunity for Europa to extend its mission.
Europa Clipper - The first NASA Flagship mission to reuse boosters, the first NASA mission dedicated to Europa and a potential first NASA mission to confirm an Ocean World beyond Earth. A potential Ocean World with up to twice the volume of water of all Earth’s oceans combined. An Ocean World with the ingredients for life; water, chemistry, and energy.
