NASA's Europa Clipper Spacecraft Uses Mars for Gravity Assist on Journey to Jupiter's Moon.

This image shows NASA’s Europa Clipper flying by Mars, using its gravitational force to adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory toward the Jupiter system.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is one step closer to its long journey to Jupiter's moon Europa, with the first of several gravity assists designed to propel it to deep space. On March 1, Europa Clipper made a flyby just 550 miles above Mars' surface, utilizing the Red Planet’s gravitational pull to adjust its trajectory toward the outer solar system.

This gravity assist maneuver, which took place at 12:57 p.m. EST, was an essential step in setting the spacecraft on its course for Jupiter’s moon Europa. By harnessing Mars' gravity, the spacecraft was able to adjust its speed and trajectory, preparing it for a later slingshot maneuver past Earth in 2026, before heading toward Jupiter’s orbit.

Europa Clipper, launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 14, 2024, embarked on a 1.8-billion-mile (2.9-billion-kilometer) journey to Jupiter, five times farther from the Sun than Earth. Without these gravity assists, the spacecraft would have needed extra fuel, increasing its weight, cost, and travel time.

“We come in very fast, and the gravity from Mars acts on the spacecraft to bend its path,” explained Brett Smith, mission systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “We exchange a small amount of energy with the planet, so we leave on a path that will bring us back past Earth.”

Europa Clipper is studying Europa to determine if the moon could be habitable. The mission aims to explore Europa’s icy shell, its ocean beneath, its composition, and its geology. These findings will contribute to understanding the potential for life on other worlds.

Science Opportunities In addition to navigating the spacecraft, the Mars flyby also provided an opportunity for mission scientists to test two of the orbiter’s key science instruments: the radar instrument and the thermal imager. A day before the closest approach, the thermal imager was calibrated, allowing for a multicolored image of Mars to be returned to Earth. Meanwhile, the radar instrument underwent its first full-scale test in space, checking the functionality of its massive antennas and long wavelengths, which could not be tested on Earth before launch.

Mission to Europa Europa Clipper’s primary objectives include determining the thickness of Europa's icy shell, analyzing the moon's interactions with its hidden ocean, and investigating its composition and geology. The spacecraft’s findings will offer critical insights into the potential for habitable environments beyond Earth, adding a new dimension to our understanding of the solar system.

Europa Clipper is managed by Caltech, with JPL leading the mission's development in collaboration with other NASA centers and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft’s mission is expected to last until 2034, with several additional gravity assists and important scientific milestones ahead.

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