PIA26437: Europa Clipper Launch Ascent Timeline
 Target Name:  Europa
 Mission:  Europa Clipper
 Spacecraft:  Europa Clipper
 Product Size:  3841 x 2161 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA26437.tif (2.266 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA26437.jpg (368.4 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This graphic shows the expected timeline of milestones immediately following liftoff if the mission launches at the beginning of its launch period on Oct. 10, 2024. The actual times of milestones will differ slightly depending on the launch day. Regardless of launch date within the launch period, the spacecraft's separation from the rocket is expected to occur a little over an hour after liftoff.

Europa Clipper is bound for the Jupiter system, where it will study the gas giant's icy moon Europa. The mission's three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon's icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission's detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

Find more information about Europa here:

europa.nasa.gov

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2024-09-10