SPACE: NASA’s Europa Clipper Flies Past Mars On Its Way To Jupiter’s Icy Moon.

Launched on October 14, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Europa Clipper is embarking on a 1.8-billion-mile (2.9-billion-kilometer) trek to the Jupiter system. The $5.2 billion mission is NASA’s first dedicated effort to explore Europa, a world that may harbor an underground ocean beneath its thick ice shell. Scientists believe this ocean could have the right conditions to support life.

The spacecraft itself is a giant among interplanetary probes. Spanning the length of a basketball court, its massive solar panels make it one of NASA’s largest planetary exploration missions.

The spacecraft was initially placed on a path with extra buffer space around Mars, a precaution to ensure that any early mission complications wouldn’t risk an unintended collision with the planet. But with all systems operating flawlessly, mission planners gave the green light for a precision flyby.

Godspeed…