The Europa Clipper Flight System on its Path to Launch

At the beginning of the next decade, the Europa Clipper Flight System will enter orbit around Jupiter and, over a four-year period, will fly by Europa nearly 50 times to explore the habitability of this planet’s moon Europa. The Flight System comprises (1) the Propulsion Module, which provides the thermally-controlled spacecraft structure, propulsion subsystem, and solar array; (2) the Avionics Module, which enables spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control operations, provides power conditioning and computer resources which stores and prioritizes science data for downlink; (3) the Radio-Frequency Module, which provides telemetry uplink and science data downlink capabilities; and (4) a highly capable suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments to achieve the science objectives of the mission. The remote sensing payload consists of the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS), the Europa Imaging System (EIS), the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE), the Europa Thermal Imaging System (E-THEMIS), and the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON). The in-situ instruments comprise the Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM), the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS), the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA), and the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (MASPEX). Gravity and radio science will be achieved using the spacecraft's telecommunication system, and valuable scientific data will be acquired by the spacecraft’s radiation monitoring system. The mission is presently in the assembly, testing, and launch operations (ATLO) phase. The Propulsion and RF Modules have been delivered from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The flight system integration and environmental testing has been completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The flight system is presently undergoing a series of operations tests. In May 2024, it will be shipped to Kennedy Space Center, where it will be integrated with the solar array, which was delivered to the location earlier this year. The launch period begins on 10 October 2024, and once lifted off, the Europa Clipper will be cruising to the Jupiter System with gravity assists by Mars followed by Earth on the way. Go Europa Clipper!