NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft recently refueled with propellant at the Kennedy Space Center, marking an important step in preparation for its upcoming mission to Jupiter's moon Europa.

NASA's Europa Clipper (pictured) will fly around Jupiter in an elliptical path, collecting data as it approaches Jupiter's moon Europa on each flyby. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Housed in NASA's largest planetary spacecraft ever, the propulsion module contains 24 engines and more than 6,000 pounds of propellant. These engines will propel the spacecraft through space, initially using gravity assists from Mars and Earth to power the spacecraft's journey.

On September 22, technicians completed propellant loading for the Europa Clipper spacecraft at NASA's Payload Hazard Maintenance Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Europa Clipper's propulsion module, an aluminum cylinder measuring 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. It houses the spacecraft's 24 engine arrays and 6,067.6 pounds of propellant in two propulsion tanks, as well as the spacecraft's helium pressurization tanks. The fuel and oxidizer in the tanks will flow to 24 engines, creating controlled chemical reactions that generate thrust in space to determine whether there is a place for life beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

The picture shows technicians completing pre-propellant loading operations for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft at the Payload Hazard Maintenance Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, September 11, 2024. Image credit: NASA/KimShiflett

After the spacecraft is launched, it is planned to fly over Mars in February 2025, and then fly back to Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase the power of the spacecraft. With the help of these "gravity assists" Europa Clipper will reach the speed required to reach Jupiter in April 2030.

NASA plans to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy on Thursday, October 10.

Europa Clipper carries a complex array of instruments and components to determine the thickness of the Moon's icy shell and how its surface interacts with the underlying ocean, study its composition, and characterize its geology. Source: NASA

The Europa Clipper mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and developed in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. It is a collaboration between multiple NASA centers. The spacecraft itself was primarily designed by APL in collaboration with JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Meanwhile, the Planetary Mission Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama oversees program management of the mission. Europa Clipper's launch is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, ensuring a coordinated effort to explore Jupiter's moon Europa and study its potential to support life.

Compiled from /scitechdaily