Skip Navigation
menu close modal

All Resources

Europa Clipper Propulsion Module

people working on the spacecraft in the clean room
Source: Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman
Published: August 3, 2021

In a cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, Europa Clipper's propulsion module harness, installed onto a bake-out fixture, is rolled up to the propulsion module in preparation for transfer and installation.

Pictured left to right: Spencer Brock, Steve Wenrich, Devin Hahne, Doug Ramsey, Jaime Avendano, and John Stinchcomb.

ENLARGE

Related

This enhanced color image shows cracks and ridges on Europa's surface that reveal a detailed geologic history.
More
Photo of Europa terrain
Cracks and Ridges on Europa
This animation segment shows the deployment of NASA’s Europa Clipper solar arrays after launch.
More
An animation showing Europa Clipper's solar arrays extend from a folded position on each side of the spacecraft, to be fully extended. When fully extended, the spacecraft is approximately as wide as a basketball court.
Mission Animation: Solar Arrays Deployment
Seen here in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is the nadir deck for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. The deck stabilizes the spacecraft’s sensors and helps t...
More
Seen here in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is the nadir deck for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Final Stretch for Europa Clipper's Nadir Deck
Engineers and technicians attach the vault plate to NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft on May 3, 2024.
More
A worker dressed in white protective clothing uses an orange-handled screwdriver to turn a screw attaching the triangular-shaped silver-colored vault plate to Europa Clipper. Wires and other parts of the spacecraft are visible. Another worker dressed in white and blue head cover looks on.
Europa Clipper Vault Plate Screw Turned
This graphic shows the location of water vapor detected over Europa's south pole that provides the first strong evidence of water plumes erupting off Europa's surface.
More
Illustration showing the location of water vapor emerging from the South Pole of Europa.
Water Vapor Plumes Over Europa
A 3D model of the Europa Imaging System (EIS), an imager on Europa Clipper.
More
3D model of the EIS instrument
EIS
Reddish spots and shallow pits pepper the enigmatic ridged surface of Europa.
More
Image of Europa surface
Ruddy "Freckles" on Europa
A series of five images that compare terrain on Europa to the San Francisco Bay area in Calfornia for scale.
More
Series of images showing scale of Jupiter's moon Europa to the San Franscisco Bay Area.
Europa Compared to Earth
Engineers and technicians lift the tall core of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft during a maneuver to position it in the High Bay 1 clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency’s Je...
More
In the center of the image, the main body of the Europa Clipper spacecraft hangs from a yellow crane in a large, multistoried cleanroom with white walls and a white ceiling. Six engineers in full-body coveralls and masks stand around the base of the main body as it hangs from the crane, with some working on the main body. In the distance, a viewing gallery is visible with four people watching the activities taking place.
The Lift: NASA's Europa Clipper Moves into Position
A 3D model of Gravity/Radio Science, a radar & gravity instrument on Europa Clipper.
More
3d model of the Gravity/Radio Science instruments
Gravity/Radio Science
This animation segment shows the deployment of NASA’s Europa Clipper ECM boom after launch.
More
An animation showing a boom extending from the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Mission Animation: ECM Boom Deployment (Distance)
A 3D model of the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA), a chemical analysis instrument on Europa Clipper.
More
3d model of the suda instrument
SUDA
Engineers and technicians work together to install reaction wheels on the underside of the main body of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is in its assembly, test, and launch operations phase...
More
The main body of the spacecraft standing in a white clean room is the central component of this image. The tall structure is covered with protective covers to keep sensitive equipment safe during assembly and what looks like white paper, which is being used for patterning for the spacecraft’s protective insulation. Four engineers are seen under the base of the spacecraft, where they are installing the reaction wheels, as if they are working on the undercarriage of a car. Two engineers on the left are on their stomachs, and two engineers on the right are on their back.
NASA's Europa Clipper: Reaction Wheel Installation
Engineers removing Europa Clipper's propulsion module from its shipping container.
More
Engineers removing Europa Clipper's propulsion module from its shipping container
Europa Clipper Propulsion Module
This animation segment shows deployment of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft after launch.
More
An animation showing the Europa Clipper spacecraft deploying from the rocket used to launch it from Earth.
Mission Animation: Deployment
Europa Clipper’s surface dust analyzer instrument was delivered to JPL in September 2022. 
More
A large group of engineers in full white body coveralls stand surrounding Europa Clipper’s surface dust analyzer. All the engineers are giving a “thumbs up” hand gesture to indicate that the instrument was successfully delivered. Nine engineers stand to the left of a silver workbench, on which the instrument rests, and six stand to the right of the workbench. The instrument is gold colored and about the size of a drum, resting on its side. The instrument is resting upon a silver workbench in the cleanroom.
Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer Delivered to JPL
This infrared image of Europa, showing heat radiation from its surface at a wavelength of 27 microns (millionths of a meter), provides the best view yet of Europa's daytime temperatures. 
More
bright colors indicate temperatures on a curved surface
Daytime Temperatures on Europa
These images show a comparison of the surfaces of the three icy Galilean satellites, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
More
three black and white views of the rugged, icy surfaces of three moons
Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto: Surface Comparison at High Spatial Resolution
The bake-out fixture is modified in preparation for the transfer and installation of the harness onto the propulsion module structure. The harness is the cabling that connects all of the electronic...
More
people wearing clean room attire work on the spacecraft's electrical system
Europa Clipper Propulsion Module
This close-up view of the icy surface of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, was obtained on Dec. 20, 1996, by the Solid State Imaging system on board the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around J...
More
black and white view of terrain on an icy surface
Close-up of Europa's Surface
During its twelfth orbit around Jupiter, on Dec. 16, 1997, NASA's Galileo spacecraft made its closest pass of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, soaring 124 miles (200 kilometers) kilometers above the icy ...
More
black and white view of ridges and rough terrain on an icy surface
Highest Resolution Image of Europa
Thermal imager bolted to frame.
More
Instrument bolted to frame used for handling.
Thermal Imager
Dry nitrogen gas is continually pumped through the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) instrument during assembly and testing to ensure it remains clean and free of contaminants
More
An image showing that dry nitrogen gas is continually pumped through the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) instrument during assembly and testing to ensure it remains clean and free of contaminants.
Dust Analyzer in the Clean Room
The images used for the base of this globe were chosen from coverage supplied by the Galileo solid-state imaging (SSI) camera and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
More
two hemispheric map projections
Europa Hemispherical Globes
The image on the left shows a region of Europa's crust made up of blocks which are thought to have broken apart and "rafted" into new positions. 
More
color full disc view of moon with higher res section called out
Blocks in the Europan Crust Provide More Evidence of Subterranean Ocean