NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft recently performed an important maneuver, flying just 550 miles (884 kilometers) above Mars. This flyby wasn’t merely for sightseeing; it was a carefully planned move to adjust the spacecraft’s path using the gravity of Mars, which helps propel it closer to its ultimate destination: Europa, an icy moon orbiting Jupiter.
A Journey of a Billion Miles Through the Solar System
Launched on October 14, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the Europa Clipper is on an incredible journey covering 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) to reach the Jupiter system. This ambitious mission, costing $5.2 billion, marks NASA’s first focused effort to study Europa, a moon scientists believe may have an underground ocean beneath its thick icy surface—a place that could support life.
This spacecraft is quite large, comparable to the length of a basketball court. With its extensive solar panels, it stands as one of NASA’s biggest planetary exploration missions.
Initially, mission planners set a path for Europa Clipper that included enough distance from Mars to allow for any potential issues that could arise early in the mission. With all systems operating smoothly, the team decided to proceed with the maneuver for a close flyby of Mars.
Using Mars as a Cosmic Slingshot
The flyby of Mars serves critical purposes beyond merely getting a closer look at the Red Planet. It provides a gravitational assist, a technique essential for interplanetary navigation. This method helps change the spacecraft’s speed and direction without relying on extra fuel. By flying past Mars at just the right angle, Europa Clipper will gain some of the planet’s orbital energy, fine-tuning its course toward Jupiter and Europa.
As explained by Ben Bradley, a mission planner at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), “It’s like a game of billiards around the solar system.” This maneuver requires very precise calculations—the way planets align must be ideal for the slingshot effect to work.
During its closest approach, which occurred yesterday at 12:57 p.m. EST (17:57 GMT), the spacecraft was moving at a speed of around 15.2 miles per second (24.5 km per second). As it moved past Mars and out of its gravitational pull, the speed slightly decreased to 14 miles per second (22.5 km per second), according to reports from Space.com.
Testing Europa Clipper’s Scientific Instruments
While the primary aim of the Mars flyby was navigation, it also offered an opportunity to test some of the spacecraft’s scientific instruments ahead of its journey to Europa.
One key instrument is the thermal imager, which was activated to capture colorful images of Mars. This data will enable engineers to calibrate the instrument and ensure that it works effectively. Additionally, the radar system, which is one of Europa Clipper’s most essential tools, will undergo its first real test during this flyby. This radar is designed to penetrate Europa’s icy exterior to search for hidden lakes or an underground ocean underneath.
Interestingly, NASA has stated that the radar’s antennas are so large they could not be fully tested on Earth. Thus, the flyby of Mars is a rare chance to observe these instruments functioning in the conditions of space for the first time.