The Europa Clipper spacecraft bound for Jupiter sends its first images from over 85 million kilometers away.
The probe will arrive at its destination in the year 2030.
NASA has shared the first image of its largest spacecraft, which was launched with the interplanetary mission Europa Clipper. This spacecraft took off on October 14, 2024, heading towards Jupiter. The image, captured by the Clipper's star tracker cameras, was released on Wednesday and shows stars observed in December. These stars serve as reference points that allow the mission team to determine the orientation of the spacecraft in space.
From the vast interplanetary space between Earth and Mars, these first images have been received, provided by the star trackers, which are essential for navigation along the extensive journey to Europa, Jupiter's icy moon. Curiously, the stars captured in the image are at distances ranging from 150 to 300 light-years away and represent only 0.1% of the entire sky around the probe. The Europa Clipper is headed towards Europa, where scientists suspect there is a hidden ocean, as well as conditions conducive to life, which the probe will investigate.
The spacecraft is expected to enter orbit around Jupiter in April 2030, at which point the main mission will begin. Additionally, NASA has successfully completed a verification of the onboard star trackers on the Clipper. Joanie Noonan from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory mentioned that, although images from the trackers are generally not transmitted, it was decided to do so in this case to ensure that the hardware, including the cameras and their lenses, had survived the launch without issues.
The image sent by the Clipper shows four bright stars: Gienah, Algorab, Kraz, and Alchiba. During the mission, star tracking is not only crucial for navigation but also for engineers to know which direction the instruments are pointing. The probe has nine instruments, including cameras that will capture images of Europa's enigmatic fractures, ridges, and valleys. Other instruments will be used to study the chemistry of the moon's subsurface ocean.
Currently, the probe is over 85 million kilometers from Earth and is traveling at a speed of 27 km per second relative to the Sun. With a span of 30 meters (100 feet) when its solar panels are deployed, this is the largest spacecraft ever built by NASA. Furthermore, the spacecraft will make a flyby of Mars on March 1 to take advantage of its gravity and gain additional acceleration towards its final destination.
