NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has sent back its first star image, a significant milestone in its journey to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The image, released by NASA this week, shows distant stars 150 to 300 light-years away, representing only 0.1% of the sky surrounding the spacecraft.
The first image is crucial for Europa Clipper’s navigational system, which uses star trackers to determine its orientation and ensure precise maneuvering on its 1.8-billion-mile journey. The two small cameras continuously capture images of stars and compare them to a catalog of known star positions stored onboard.
“This would be impossible to achieve without the spacecraft’s exact orientation,” said Mana Salami, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory systems engineer. “By cross-referencing its location relative to the stars, Europa Clipper ensures that its instruments will be perfectly aligned when it reaches Jupiter’s moon in April 2030.”
The Europa Clipper mission aims to investigate whether Europa’s subsurface ocean could support life. The spacecraft will carry out nearly 50 flybys of Europa, collecting data on the ice shell, surface composition, and geological activity. Before reaching Jupiter, Europa Clipper will perform a series of gravity assists to increase its speed.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Europa in April 2030, bringing us one step closer to answering humanity’s biggest question: could life exist beyond Earth? With each new milestone, the Europa Clipper mission brings us closer to unlocking the secrets of Jupiter’s mysterious ocean world.
Source: https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/02/europa-clipper-starry-image-jupiter-moon