NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft successfully completed a critical maneuver by passing just 550 miles above Mars, adjusting its trajectory using the planet’s gravity and setting itself up for a deeper journey into space. The $5.2 billion mission aims to explore Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa, which scientists believe may harbor an underground ocean suitable for life.
Launched on October 14, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the spacecraft is embarking on a 1.8-billion-mile journey through the solar system. To refine its course, mission planners took advantage of Mars’ gravity as a “cosmic slingshot,” allowing them to alter the spacecraft’s speed and trajectory without additional fuel.
“This flyby is like a game of billiards around the solar system,” said Ben Bradley, a mission planner at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Everything has to line up for it to work.”
The Mars flyby served multiple purposes, including testing some of the spacecraft’s key instruments. The thermal imager captured multicolored images of Mars, while the radar instrument – one of Europa Clipper’s most critical tools – underwent its first real test in space.
“This rare opportunity allows us to see the radar system operate for the first time,” NASA said. The flyby provided a crucial chance to calibrate and test these instruments before reaching Jupiter and Europa, where scientists believe they will find evidence of life beneath the ice shell.
Source: https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/03/nasas-europa-clipper