Thanks, Mars!
Today, the Europa Clipper made its way past Mars on a gravity assist move to further support its eventual swing by Jupiter’s moon Europa!
(Tweet)
As I mentioned in a previous post about this, the Martian gravity assist did not boost Europa Clipper’s speed but reduced it instead. This is so that less propellant is needed, as the craft still has a long way to go to reach Jupiter.
In fact, it’s swinging back to earth first for another gravity assist before being flung out past the asteroid belt. This gravity assist will happen in December 2026; the craft will get to Jupiter in April 2030.
Pretty cool, huh?
Europa Clipper News!
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?
Good Luck, Europe Clipper!
And she’s off!
Not sure how things on earth will be going in 2030, but if we’re still somehow chugging along and not murdering each other for water, food, and other resources that we’ve destroyed due to climate change, the information this will send back will be so cool to see!
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