- Start
- Apr 11, 203025% CONFIDENCELow confidencefrom the source
Europa Clipper Arrives at Jupiter
- Europa Clipper launched on a Falcon Heavy on 14 October 2024 and is due to arrive at Jupiter on 11 April 2030 for all launch dates (JPL press kit), with a Ganymede flyby about 12 hours before a burn of about six hours for Jupiter orbit insertion[1][2][4]
- The route is a 5.5-year cruise with a Mars gravity assist in March 2025 and an Earth flyby in December 2026, about 1.8 billion miles[1][2][4]
- Arrival sets up nearly 50 (49 planned) close Europa flybys as close as 25 km, beginning in 2031, over a prime mission from 2030 to 2034[1][2][3][4]
- It is NASA's largest planetary spacecraft, with solar arrays spanning 30.5 m, nine instruments and a gravity science investigation[1][4]
- The goal is to assess whether Europa's ice shell and ocean could be habitable; it is not a life-detection mission[4]
- Possible end of mission is September 2034, with a planned deorbit into Ganymede; cost estimate rose from about $2 billion (2013) to $4.25 billion (2020)[1][3]
References 468% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]25%en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Clipperen.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 11, 2026· Starts Apr 11, 2030 ✓· 32% of score
No wording about the date found on en.wikipedia.org; treat it as unverified.
- [2]92%Europa Clipper Press Kit: Mission Overview | NASA JPLjpl.nasa.gov· Added Sep 14, 2026· 33% of score
NASA[3][4] JPL's own press kit states Europa Clipper is 'scheduled to arrive at Jupiter on April 11, 2030,' an exact match for the pin's stored date.
- [3]85%Europa Clipper Mission Timelinescience.nasa.gov· Added Sep 14, 2026· 33% of score
NASA's[2][4] mission timeline confirms Europa Clipper will 'use its engines as brakes to slow the spacecraft down to match Jupiter's orbit' in April 2030, matching the pin's stored April 11-12, 2030 arrival date.
- [4]78%Journey to a Water World: NASA's Europa Clipper Is Ready to Launch | NASA JPLjpl.nasa.gov· Published Oct 13, 2024· 2% of score
NASA[2][3] JPL's pre-launch article, published October 13, 2024, states the spacecraft will 'begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030,' again matching the pin's stored date, written nearly six years ahead of the actual arrival.
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