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Final Stretch for Europa Clipper's Nadir Deck

Aug. 5, 2021
Seen here in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is the nadir deck for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft.

Seen here in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is the nadir deck for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft. The deck stabilizes the spacecraft's sensors and helps the mission team ensure its instruments are oriented correctly.

With an internal global ocean under a thick layer of ice, Jupiter's moon Europa may have the potential to harbor existing life. Europa Clipper will swoop around Jupiter on an elliptical path, dipping close to the moon on each flyby. Understanding Europa's habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet. Europa Clipper is set to launch in 2024.

More information about Europa and Europa Clipper can be found here: europa.nasa.gov

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