Mission controllers have carried out three TCMs to set the stage for the Mars gravity help — in early November, late January, and on Feb. 14. They’ll conduct one other TCM about 15 days after the Mars flyby to make sure the spacecraft is on observe and are more likely to conduct extra ones — upwards of 200 — all through the mission, which is ready to final till 2034.
Alternative for Science
Whereas navigators are counting on the gravity help for gas effectivity and to maintain the spacecraft on their deliberate path, scientists are trying ahead to the occasion to benefit from the shut proximity to the Crimson Planet and take a look at two of the mission’s science instruments.
A few day previous to the closest method, the mission will calibrate the thermal imager, leading to a multicolored picture of Mars within the months following as the info is returned and scientists course of the info. And close to closest method, they’ll have the radar instrument carry out a take a look at of its operations — the primary time all its parts shall be examined collectively. The radar antennas are so huge, and the wavelengths they produce so lengthy that it wasn’t attainable for engineers to check them on Earth earlier than launch.
Extra About Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper’s three most important science targets are to find out the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean under, to analyze its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will assist scientists higher perceive the astrobiological potential for liveable worlds past our planet.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the event of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Utilized Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the primary spacecraft physique in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard House Flight Middle in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall House Flight Middle in Huntsville, Alabama, and Langley Analysis Middle in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Workplace at Marshall executes program administration of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Providers Program, primarily based at Kennedy, managed the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
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