vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
NASA's Europa Flyby Mission Moves into Design Phase – NASA's Europa Clipper
The spacecraft would orbit Jupiter as frequently as every two weeks, providing many opportunities for close flybys of Europa. The mission plan includes 40 to 45 flybys in the prime mission, during which the spacecraft would image the moon's icy surface at high resolution and investigate its composition and the structure of its interior and icy shell.
The life cycle of a NASA science mission includes several key phases. At each step, missions must successfully demonstrate that they have met the agency's requirements in order to indicate readiness to move forward into the next phase. Phase B includes preliminary design work, while phases C and D include final design, spacecraft fabrication, assembly and testing, and launch.
For more information about NASA's mission to Europa, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/europa

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NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft – NASA's Europa Clipper
NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft – NASA's Europa Clipper

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| March 3, 2022

NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft

Clockwise from left: the propulsion module for NASA’s Europa Clipper, the ultraviolet spectrograph (called Europa-UVS), the high-gain antenna, and an illustration of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech / Johns Hopkins APL

Science instruments and other hardware for the spacecraft will come together in the mission’s final phase before a launch to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa in 2024.
When it’s fully assembled, NASA’s Europa Clipper will be as large as an SUV with solar arrays long enough to span a basketball court – all the better to help power the spacecraft during its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. And just about every detail of the spacecraft will have been hand-crafted.
The assembly effort is already underway in clean rooms at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Now, engineering components and science instruments are beginning to stream in from across the country and Europe. Before year’s end, most of the flight hardware – including a suite of nine science instruments – is expected to be complete.

See More Images of Europa Clipper Coming Together

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The main body of the spacecraft is a giant 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) propulsion module, designed and constructed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, with help from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and JPL. The module, fitted with electronics, radios, cabling, and the propulsion subsystem, will ship to JPL this spring. Europa Clipper’s 10-foot-wide (3-meter-wide) high-gain antenna also will be arriving at the Lab soon.
“We’re moving into the phase where we see the pieces all come together as a flight system,” said Europa Clipper Project Manager Jan Chodas of JPL. “It will be very exciting to see the hardware, the flight software, and the instruments get integrated and tested.
Overview | Why Europa – NASA's Europa Clipper
A new NASA study modeling conditions in the ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa suggests that the necessary balance of chemical energy for life could exist there, even if the moon lacks volcanic hydrothermal activity.

Europa's Ocean May Have An Earthlike Chemical Balance

Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for signs of present-day life, and a new NASA mission to explore this potential is moving forward from concept review to development.

All Systems Go for NASA's Mission to Jupiter Moon Europa

Two powerful science investigations will help unravel the mystery of whether Jupiter's icy moon Europa might have the right conditions for life, when a new NASA mission heads there sometime in the 2020s.

Europa Mission to Probe Magnetic Field and Chemistry

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History | Mission – NASA's Europa Clipper
The spacecraft will use multiple flybys of the moon to investigate the habitability of this ocean world.

NASA's Europa Clipper Builds Hardware, Moves Toward Assembly

In an unprecedented year, the Europa Clipper project continues on the path toward unprecedented science. 

On the Path Towards Unprecedented Science

The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa features a widely varied landscape, including ridges, bands, small rounded domes and disrupted spaces that geologists call "chaos terrain." Three newly reprocessed images, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s, reveal details in diverse surface features on Europa.

Newly Reprocessed Images of Europa Show 'Chaos Terrain' in Crisp Detail

An icy ocean world in our solar system that could tell us more about the potential for life on other worlds is coming into focus with confirmation of the Europa Clipper mission's next phase. 

Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moon Confirmed

A full-scale prototype antenna, which at 10 feet tall is the same height as a standard basketball hoop, is in the Experimental Test Range (ETR) at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Europa Clipper High Gain Antenna Undergoes Testing at Langley

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NASA has decided to replace the current magnetometer on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission with a less complex instrument. 

NASA Seeks New Options for Science Instrument on Europa Clipper

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions

The Preliminary Design Phase of the project continues at full speed.

The Sextant: Europa Clipper Newsletter

NASA will host a Science Chat at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT Monday, May 14), to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa and its status as one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life.
Europa Mission to Probe Magnetic Field and Chemistry – NASA's Europa Clipper
The MISE team recently achieved a milestone for any telescope: first light.

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Here are ten things to know about how Europa Clipper’s instruments will achieve the mission’s science objectives. 

10 Things to Know About Europa Clipper's Science Instruments

The most complex and demanding segment of Europa Clipper's trajectory is the three years when it performs repeated flybys of Jupiter's moon Europa. 

Mission Dispatch: Tweaking the Trajectory 

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter's moon Europa.

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission

Jupiter’s moon Europa and its global ocean may currently have conditions suitable for life. Scientists are studying processes on the icy surface as they prepare to explore.

Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa Churned by Small Impacts

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be the most promising place in the solar system to find present-day environments suitable for life beyond Earth. 

Europa: A World of Ice, With Potential for Life

Jupiter’s moon Europa has an icy crust covering a vast, global ocean. The rocky layer underneath may be hot enough to melt, leading to undersea volcanoes.

Europa's Interior May Be Hot Enough to Fuel Seafloor Volcanoes

In an unprecedented year, the Europa Clipper project continues on the path toward unprecedented science. 

On the Path Towards Unprecedented Science

Scientists have theorized on the origin of the water plumes possibly erupting from Jupiter's moon Europa. Recent research adds a new potential source to the mix.

Potential Plumes on Europa Could Come From Water in the Crust

New lab experiments re-create the environment of Europa and find that the icy moon shines, even on its nightside. The effect is more than just a cool visual.

Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon

The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa features a widely varied landscape, including ridges, bands, small rounded domes and disrupted spaces that geologists call "chaos terrain."
Una voz entre las estrellas: Poema de la poetisa laureada estadounidense Ada Limón viajará a Europa en una nave espacial de la NASA – NASA's Europa Clipper
NASA has decided to replace the current magnetometer on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission with a less complex instrument. 

NASA Seeks New Options for Science Instrument on Europa Clipper

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions

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NASA Begins Assembly of Europa Clipper Spacecraft – NASA's Europa Clipper
“Everybody’s eyes turn toward the integrated system that’s coming together, which is exciting.”
More About the Mission
Missions such as Europa Clipper contribute to the field of astrobiology, the interdisciplinary research on the variables and conditions of distant worlds that could harbor life as we know it. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Europa and investigate whether the icy moon, with its subsurface ocean, has the capability to support life. Understanding Europa’s habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
News Media Contact
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov
2022-023

Meet Europa Clipper

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter's moon Europa to determine whether there are places below the moon's surface that could support life.

Meet the spacecraft ›

Why Europa?

Scientists are almost certain that hidden beneath the icy surface of Europa is a saltwater ocean thought to contain about twice as much water as Earth’s global ocean. It may be the most promising place in our solar system to find present-day environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth.

Learn more about Europa › 

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[19]

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Gravity/Radio Science | Instruments – NASA's Europa Clipper
10 Things to Know About Europa Clipper's Science Instruments

Europa Clipper will need to know its orientation while traveling from Earth to Jupiter and in orbit around Jupiter. To accomplish this, it will use the stars. 

Mission Dispatch: Tracking the Stars

The most complex and demanding segment of Europa Clipper's trajectory is the three years when it performs repeated flybys of Jupiter's moon Europa. 

Mission Dispatch: Tweaking the Trajectory 

Finding plumes at Europa is an exciting prospect, but scientists warn it’ll be tricky, even from up close.

Are Water Plumes Spraying From Europa? NASA's Europa Clipper Is on the Case

Take a closer look at the complex choreography involved in building NASA’s Europa Clipper as the mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa approaches its 2024 launch date.

A Few Steps Closer to Europa: Spacecraft Hardware Makes Headway

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter's moon Europa.

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Europa Clipper Mission

In an unprecedented year, the Europa Clipper project continues on the path toward unprecedented science. 

On the Path Towards Unprecedented Science

Jupiter’s moon Europa may have the potential to harbor life. The spacecraft will use multiple flybys of the moon to investigate the habitability of this ocean world.

NASA's Europa Clipper Builds Hardware, Moves Toward Assembly

The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa features a widely varied landscape, including ridges, bands, small rounded domes and disrupted spaces that geologists call "chaos terrain." Three newly reprocessed images, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s, reveal details in diverse surface features on Europa.

Newly Reprocessed Images of Europa Show 'Chaos Terrain' in Crisp Detail

An icy ocean world in our solar system that could tell us more about the potential for life on other worlds is coming into focus with confirmation of the Europa Clipper mission's next phase. 

Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moon Confirmed

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NASA's Europa Mission Begins with Selection of Science Instruments – NASA's Europa Clipper
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Frequently Asked Questions | Message in a Bottle – NASA's Europa Clipper
The addition of a high-gain antenna will enable the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft – set to launch in October 2024 – to communicate with mission controllers hundreds of millions of miles away.

NASA's Europa Probe Gets a Hotline to Earth

Members of the public are invited to add their names to an original poem dedicated to NASA’s Europa Clipper mission.

NASA Invites Public to Sign Poem That Will Fly Aboard Europa Clipper

The short videos take audiences behind the scenes to learn more about how space missions come together.

New Video Series Captures Team Working on NASA's Europa Clipper

A new NASA study offers an explanation of how quakes could be the source of the mysteriously smooth terrain on moons circling Jupiter and Saturn. 

Icy Moonquakes: Surface Shaking Could Trigger Landslides 

Research reveals a new explanation for how the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa rotates at a different rate than its interior. NASA’s Europa Clipper will take a closer look. 

Study Finds Ocean Currents May Affect Rotation of Europa's Icy Crust

The enormous spacecraft that will head to Jupiter’s moon Europa uses four large reaction wheels to help keep it oriented.

NASA's Europa Clipper Gets Its Wheels for Traveling in Deep Space

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Heather Doyle

Public Engagement Lead: 
Laurance Fauconnet

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Bill Dunford

Science Writer: 
Sandy Marshall
FAQ | Mission – NASA's Europa Clipper
For example, Europa is one of the only places beyond Earth where we have found plate tectonics, the motion of portions of the surface crust scientists believe are driven by the fluid-like motions of warm solid layers like the Earth’s mantle and Europa’s icy shell.  Studying this motion, called convection, may be easier on Europa since the surface ice layer is much thinner than Earth’s rocky crust. Europa’s young surface, which lacks many sources of terrestrial erosion such as wind and water, allows us to view the results of tectonic activity in a pristine form. In addition, looking for life in other places beyond Earth is a way to help us learn more about how life originated on Earth. Since Earth’s plate tectonics may help maintain chemical imbalances that can support life, studying a similar process on Europa could help us understand life on Earth and beyond. 

Launch, Cruise & Orbiting Jupiter

What launch vehicle will the Europa Clipper spacecraft use?

NASA has selected a SpaceX Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for the Europa Clipper mission. The launch vehicle selection was announced in July 2021. Utilizing this vehicle, the mission is targeting a launch in October 2024 on a Mars-Earth Gravity Assist (MEGA) trajectory that will arrive at Jupiter in April 2030.

How long will the trip to Europa take?

Jupiter is five times as far away from the Sun as Earth. The Europa Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 and will arrive in 2030, after a five and half year journey.

Why will the Europa Clipper spacecraft orbit Jupiter instead of Europa?

Europa Clipper’s orbit around Jupiter is preferable due to the belts of intense  radiation that surround the planet, which can damage electronics. Initial mission concept studies, which led to the Europa Clipper mission, showed that a spacecraft orbiting Europa might only be able to survive for months, while a Jupiter-orbiting mission should have a multi-year lifetime. The innovative design of the Europa Clipper trajectory allows about 50 flybys of Europa, each with a different close approach location, to allow almost the complete moon to be mapped at high resolution.