Europa Clipper is a school-bus-sized spacecraft en route to Europa, the Jupiter moon whose icy shell hides a saltwater ocean holding more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. It launched in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy and arrives at Jupiter in 2030.
Rather than orbiting Europa inside Jupiter's punishing radiation belts, Clipper will orbit Jupiter and make about 50 close flybys, mapping the ice shell, sampling particles, and scanning for plumes venting from the ocean below.
Europa is one of the most likely places in the solar system to find conditions for life: liquid water, energy, and chemistry, all sustained for billions of years. Clipper is the mission that determines whether that ocean is actually habitable, setting up a future lander to look for life itself.
Key Facts
- Launched
- October 14, 2024, on Falcon Heavy
- Arrives at Jupiter
- 2030
- Size
- Solar arrays span over 100 feet
- Plan
- About 50 Europa flybys from Jupiter orbit
- Target
- A subsurface ocean with 2x Earth's liquid water
Timeline
October 2024
Launch from Kennedy Space Center
March 2025
Mars gravity assist
December 2026
Earth gravity assist, planned
Next up
Jupiter arrival, planned 2030
Latest Europa Clipper News
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Facts last reviewed 2026-07-11. Official mission page: science.nasa.gov