First Images From NASA's Europa Clipper

This mosaic of a star field was made from three images captured Dec. 4, 2024, by star tracker cameras aboard NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft. The pair of star trackers (formally known as the stellar reference units) captured and transmitted Europa Clipper's first imagery of space. The picture, composed of three shots, shows tiny pinpricks of light from stars 150 to 300 light-years away. The starfield represents only about 0.1% of the full sky around the spacecraft, but by mapping the stars in just that small slice of sky, the orbiter is able to determine where it is pointed and orient itself correctly. The starfield includes the four brightest stars – Gienah, Algorab, Kraz, and Alchiba – of the constellation Corvus, which is Latin for "crow," a bird in Greek mythology that was associated with Apollo. Besides being interesting to stargazers, the photos signal the successful checkout of the star trackers. The spacecraft checkout phase has been going on since Europa Clipper launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 14, 2024. Europa Clipper's three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon's icy shell and its 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/PIA26561