The Europa Clipper Mission Tests It Radar Instrument at Mars – Universe Today
12 days ago
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- #Europa Clipper
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- NASA's Europa Clipper mission began its journey to Jupiter's moon Europa on October 14, 2024.
- The probe conducted a gravity-assist maneuver at Mars on March 1st and tested its REASON radar instrument.
- REASON will study Europa's icy shell, subsurface water pockets, and interior ocean, potentially supporting life.
- The radar test at Mars was successful, producing a radargram of Mars' topography.
- REASON uses two pairs of antennas extending 17.6 meters from the spacecraft's solar arrays.
- The Mars flyby allowed unique radar testing not possible on Earth.
- The instrument team collected 60 GB of data, confirming REASON's functionality.
- Europa Clipper will perform another gravity assist using Earth in 2026 before reaching Europa.
- The spacecraft is currently 280 million miles from Earth.