The Lift: NASA's Europa Clipper Moves Into Position

Engineers and technicians use a crane to lift the main body of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft and position it in the High Bay 1 clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Standing 10 feet (3 meters) high and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, the core will be the focus of attention as the spacecraft is assembled for its launch to Jupiter's moon Europa in October 2024. Europa Clipper will conduct nearly 50 flybys of the icy Jovian moon Europa, which scientists are confident harbors an internal ocean containing twice as much water as Earth's oceans combined. The moon may currently have conditions suitable for supporting life. The spacecraft's nine science instruments, plus a gravity science investigation, will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, surface, and interior – information that scientists will use to gauge the depth and salinity of the ocean, the thickness of the ice crust, and potential plumes that may be venting subsurface water into space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25491