A View of Europa Clipper From Above

Members of the media observed NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft from a viewing gallery about High Bay 1 in the historic Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 11, 2024. The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper is expected to launch in October 2024 on a six-year journey to the Jupiter system, where it will orbit the gas giant and study the ice-encased moon Europa. Europa Clipper's main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of 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/PIA26292