NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft made an important maneuver, passing simply 550 miles (884 km) above Mars because it continued its journey towards Jupiter’s ice-covered moon, Europa. The flyby was not only a scenic detour—it was a strategic transfer designed to regulate the spacecraft’s trajectory utilizing Mars’ gravity, slingshotting it additional into deep house.
A Billion-mile Journey By way of The Photo voltaic System
Launched on October 14, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Europa Clipper is embarking on a 1.8-billion-mile (2.9-billion-kilometer) trek to the Jupiter system. The $5.2 billion mission is NASA’s first devoted effort to discover Europa, a world that will harbor an underground ocean beneath its thick ice shell. Scientists imagine this ocean may have the best situations to assist life.
The spacecraft itself is a huge amongst interplanetary probes. Spanning the size of a basketball court docket, its large photo voltaic panels make it one among NASA’s largest planetary exploration missions.
The spacecraft was initially positioned on a path with additional buffer house round Mars, a precaution to make sure that any early mission problems wouldn’t danger an unintended collision with the planet. However with all programs working flawlessly, mission planners gave the inexperienced gentle for a precision flyby.
Utilizing Mars As A Cosmic Slingshot
The flyby of Mars isn’t nearly getting nearer to the Pink Planet. It’s a gravitational help, a way utilized in interplanetary navigation to change a spacecraft’s pace and trajectory with out utilizing extra gasoline. By skimming previous Mars at exactly the best angle, Europa Clipper will borrow a bit of of the planet’s orbital power, refining its course towards Jupiter and Europa.
“It’s like a sport of billiards across the photo voltaic system” mentioned Ben Bradley, a mission planner at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “Every thing has to line up — the geometry of the photo voltaic system needs to be excellent to drag it off.”
Throughout its closest method, which occurred yesterday at 12:57 p.m. EST (1757 GMT), the probe was touring at roughly 15.2 miles per second (24.5 km per second). Because it moved past Mars’ gravitational affect, its velocity barely decreased to 14 miles per second (22.5 km per second), as reported by Space.com.
Testing Europa Clipper’s Scientific Devices
Whereas the Mars flyby is primarily a navigational maneuver, it additionally presents a chance to check a number of the spacecraft’s key devices earlier than it reaches its last vacation spot.
Certainly one of these is the thermal imager, which can be powered on to seize multicolored photographs of Mars. The info will assist engineers calibrate the instrument and guarantee it’s functioning correctly.
Additionally, the radar instrument, one among Europa Clipper’s most important instruments, will endure its first actual take a look at. This radar system is designed to penetrate Europa’s icy shell, looking for hidden subsurface lakes or an ocean beneath.
In accordance with NASA, the radar’s antennas are so massive that they couldn’t be totally examined on Earth. This flyby gives a uncommon probability to see them function in house for the primary time.
