The Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched by NASA on October 14, is currently 13 million miles (21 million kilometers) from Earth and traveling at 22 miles per second (35.4 kilometers per second) relative to the Sun.

Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft developed by NASA for a planetary mission. It will fly 1.8 billion miles (3 billion kilometers) to reach Jupiter in 2030 and begin a series of 49 flights in 2031, using a suite of data collection instruments that will tell scientists whether Jupiter’s icy moon has interior ocean conditions that can support it. life

The space probe has already deployed its solar panels and magnetometer, which will measure the magnetic field around Europa. The antennas of the radar device, which will collect data about the satellite’s surface and the ocean, were also deployed.

“A lot of what the team is focusing on right now is finding interesting aspects in the data that will help us understand the spacecraft’s behavior at a deeper level,” said Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager.

The remaining seven devices will be turned on and off throughout December and January so engineers can check their status. Various instruments, including the camera and mass spectrometers, will remain shut down for the next three years to protect them from potential solar damage during Europa Clipper’s stay in the inner Solar System.

After checking all instruments and engineering subsystems, the mission team will turn its attention to Mars. On March 1, 2025, Europa Clipper will reach Mars orbit and begin orbiting the Red Planet, using the planet’s gravity to gain speed.

In Mars orbit, scientists plan to turn on a thermal imaging device to take multicolor photographs of Mars for testing purposes. They also plan to collect data with the radar device so engineers can make sure the device is working as expected.

The spacecraft will pass by Earth and perform another gravity maneuver before making part of its long journey to the Jupiter system in December 2026. Meanwhile, the magnetometer measures the Earth’s magnetic field by calibrating the device.

Europa Clipper’s three main scientific goals are to determine the thickness of the moon’s ice shell and study its interaction with the ocean beneath it, to study its composition, and to characterize its geology. Detailed examination of Europa during the mission will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential of objects located beyond our planet.