Closing of the Europa Clipper Vault

Engineers and technicians are seen closing the vault of NASA's Europa Clipper in the main clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Oct. 7, 2023. The vault will protect the sophisticated electronics of the spacecraft as it orbits Jupiter and endures one of the most punishing radiation environments in our solar system. The mission is targeting October 2024 for the launch of its spacecraft, which will fly by Europa about 50 times. Europa Clipper's main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission's three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon's icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission's detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25959