Quick Facts

The Europa Clipper mission name evokes the swift-sailing clipper ships of the 19th century.

The main spacecraft body, or bus, is about 10 feet (3 meters) wide, 15.5 feet (4.7 meters) tall, and 13 feet (4 meters) deep.

A 28-foot (8.5-meter) boom extends from the spacecraft bus.

With its solar arrays extended, the spacecraft spans just over 100 feet (30.5 meters). From end to end, pairs of radar antennas that extend from each solar array span a distance of about 58 feet (17.6 meters). In its fully deployed configuration, Europa Clipper is larger than a basketball court.

At launch, Europa Clipper will weigh approximately 12,800 pounds (about 5,800 kilograms), including about 6,060 pounds (about 2,750 kilograms) of propellant.

The spacecraft carries nine dedicated science instruments, plus a gravity and radio science investigation. The instruments will work together to gather data on Europa’s atmosphere, surface, interior, and space environment.

Europa Clipper is powered by two large solar arrays, each about 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long and about 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) high. Such large solar arrays are needed to collect enough sunlight at Jupiter — which is more than five times farther from the Sun than Earth is — to power instruments, electronics, heaters, and other subsystems.

The spacecraft features a special vault to protect its electronics from the intense radiation environment at Jupiter. Inside, computers and other components are shielded behind sheets of aluminum-zinc alloy up to 0.36 inches (9.2 millimeters) thick.

Following NASA’s tradition of sending inspirational messages into space, Europa Clipper’s electronics vault includes a unique tantalum metal plate featuring poetry, artwork, and a microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public.

Oct. 10 through Oct. 30. Updates on the road to launch can be found on the mission blog.

A Europa Clipper launch on Oct. 10 would occur at about 12:30 p.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. PDT). Additional information about launch windows (the time each day Europa Clipper can launch) can be found at science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/launch-windows.

Launch Complex 39A, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida

SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket

1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers)

5½ years

Prime mission of a little over four years, following arrival at Jupiter

Below is the planned timeline of key mission events.

• October 2024: Launch
• February/March 2025: Mars gravity assist
• December 2026: Earth gravity assist
• April 2030: Jupiter orbit insertion
• Early 2031: Europa flybys begin
• June 2034: End of prime mission

The mission’s primary target, Europa, is one of Jupiter’s four largest moons. There is strong evidence that Europa has a saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface that may be one of the best places to look for environments where life could exist beyond Earth.

Europa's diameter is about 90% that of Earth’s Moon, with an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,122 kilometers).

Surface temperatures at Europa range from about minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 370 F (minus 133 degrees Celsius to minus 223 C).

Europa orbits Jupiter relatively quickly, circling the planet every 3.55 Earth days at a distance of about 417,000 miles (671,000 kilometers) from the planet — roughly 1.75 times farther than our own Moon is to Earth.

Like Earth’s Moon, Europa is locked by gravity so that the same hemisphere of the moon always faces the planet.

Europa’s surface is composed mostly of water ice, but it has a significant amount of reddish, non-ice material of unknown composition. This material appears to be present in areas of the surface that have been disturbed and could represent material from below that has been emplaced on the surface.

Europa is believed to have a global saltwater ocean beneath its icy crust. Scientists estimate it could be around 40 to 100 miles (60 to 150 kilometers) deep — large enough to contain more than twice as much water as all Earth’s oceans combined.

In Greek mythology, Europa was a mortal who became a princess of Crete after Cupid hit Zeus (the Roman god Jupiter) with an arrow, causing him to fall under Europa’s spell. The moon of Jupiter and the continent of Europe are named after her.

NASA will invest a total of approximately $5.2 billion in the full life of the mission, which spans about two decades, starting in 2015 and going out to 2034 — the end of Europa Clipper’s prime mission.