The Europa Clipper launched about 4.5 months ago with the goal of eventually examining Jupiter’s moon Europa. On March 1, it will perform a gravity assist by flying by Mars.

(Pic from here).

Unlike what you’d probably expect from something called a “gravity assist,” the Europa Clipper won’t be using Mars’ gravity to speed up but rather to slow down and reshape its orbit around the sun. This will set it up for a second gravity assist around the earth in late 2026 before it finally heads off to Jupiter.

Cool, huh?