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- Apr 11, 203025% CONFIDENCEsource
Europa Clipper Arrives at Jupiter
NASA's largest planetary probe begins dozens of flybys of Europa to assess whether its subsurface ocean could support life. Scheduled date.
- 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]
Cost $4.3B