Skip Navigation
CLIPPER CAM
icon/broadcasting LIVE
menu close modal

All Resources

Europa Clipper's Nadir Deck

Nadir deck shown in clean room.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Published: May 17, 2022

The nadir deck for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The nadir deck will stabilize the spacecraft's sensors and helps ensure the science instruments are oriented correctly.

ENLARGE

Related

This video shows the installation of one of the main computers of the spacecraft.
More
Video showing the installation of hardware in a white clean room, with a silver box being hoisted and then moved.
Main Computer Installation
An engineer ground tests Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer.
More
The SUDA sensor head rests upon a table in a clean room. The sensor head is gold in color, shaped slightly like a drum on its side with a door facing the viewer that is closed. An engineer in white coveralls, a mask, and light blue gloves is on the right side of the image and is seen peering over the instrument. The engineer is holding a handheld device attached a blue wire, which itself is attached to the sensor head, and they perform a test. Is a purple light is shown on the table and on the front of the engineer.
Electrical Ground Testing Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer
The flight model for MISE’s diffraction grating, which disperses light, in a manner similar to a prism, before the light strikes the instrument's detector.
More
The flight model for MISE’s diffraction grating, which disperses light, in a manner similar to a prism, before the light strikes the instrument's detector.
MISE Diffraction Grating
Thera and Thrace are two dark, reddish regions of enigmatic terrain that disrupt the older icy ridged plains on Jupiter's moon Europa.
More
color view of two darker regions on an icy terrain
Thera and Thrace on Europa
This image, acquired by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Sept. 26, 1998, shows features on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa that a scientific report interprets as signs of compressive folding.
More
two black and white views of ridged surface under different lighting conditions
Folds on Europa
One of the Europa Clipper magnetometer's three fluxgate sensors, which will measure the strength and orientation of Europa's magnetic fields.
More
An octagonal device about the size of a small toaster sits on a laboratory table before a worker wearing a white full-body covering in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Magnetometer Fluxgate Assembly
This graphic of Jupiter's moon Europa maps a relationship between the amount of energy deposited onto the moon from charged-particle bombardment and the chemical contents of ice deposits on the sur...
More
two global views of Europa with colors representing chemical components
Energy From Above Affecting Surface of Europa
The puzzling, fascinating surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view.
More
Europa view
Europa's Stunning Surface
This animation shows NASA’s Europa Clipper during a flyby of Europa. 
More
This animation shows NASA’s Europa Clipper during a flyby of Europa.
Mission Animation: Europa Flyby
One of Europa Clipper’s star tracker optical heads in a JPL clean room for testing.
More
One of Europa Clipper’s star tracker optical heads in a JPL clean room for testing in October 2021. After the spacecraft’s launch in October 2024, the star tracker will autonomously identify stars to determine Europa Clipper’s orientation in space. The device is essential for precisely pointing the spacecraft’s science instruments and communication antennas.
Star Tracker Optical Head
Agenor Linea is unique in that it is similar in width and length to dark bands seen in the northern hemisphere, but it is bright in color rather than dark.
More
Rugged terrain on Europa
Agenor Linea on Europa
The icy surface of Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, was photographed by the Galileo spacecraft on its fourth orbit around Jupiter. 
More
landforms on an icy surface
Flows on Europa
This image of Europa, smallest of Jupiter's four Galilean satellites, was acquired by Voyager 2 on July 9, 1979
More
half-disc, black and white view of cracked icy surface
Europa's Fractured Surface
Europa Clipper’s surface dust analyzer instrument is examined following delivery to JPL in September 2022.
More
An engineer in a full body coverall and a fask mask is shown on the left side of the image, holding a small black flashlight the size of a pen and examining Europa Clipper’s surface dust analyzer instrument. 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 image of Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter, was obtained from a range of 39,028 miles (62,089 kilometers) by the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around Jupiter and its first close...
More
black and white view of ridges and other landforms on the icy surface
Ridges and Plateaus
This is a high resolution picture of Jupiter's moon Europa. The area shown is about 5.9 by 9.9 miles (9.6 by 16 kilometers) and the smallest visible feature is about the size of a football field.
More
black and white view of rough terrain on an icy surface
Ridges on Europa
The inward-facing side of the Europa Clipper vault plate has drawings, and a microchip engraved with more than 2.6 million names.
More
A full view of the Europa Clipper vault plate’s inward-facing side. The upper portion features the Jovian system with a bottle replacing Jupiter, and the lower portion is dominated by a handwritten poem in elegant script. A lifelike engraved portrait sits to the left of the poem. The plate has a symmetrical arrangement of holes along its perimeter for mounting. The background is black, highlighting the metallic sheen of the plate and the details of the engravings.
Europa Clipper Vault Plate - Inward-Facing Side
A 3D-printed mock-up of optical head and shielding for Europa Clipper’s stellar reference unit (or star tracker) going through contamination control and planetary protection sampling prior to enter...
More
A 3D-printed mock-up of optical head and shielding for Europa Clipper’s stellar reference unit (or star tracker) going through contamination control and planetary protection sampling prior to entering a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
3D-Printed Star Tracker Mock-Up
A view of the outward-facing side of the Europa Clipper vault plate.
More
An image of the Europa Clipper vault plate, highlighted from the upper left corner casting shadows that emphasize engraved waveforms emanating from a central point symbolizing the word 'water' in multiple languages. The waveforms present as audio frequency waves. The vault plate is metal silver and the engravings are black, set against a black background.
Europa Clipper Vault Plate - Outward-Facing Side
Europa Clipper's high-gain antenna is installed on Aug. 14, 2023.
More
Europa Clipper's high gain antenna, which is taller than the nearby workers, is covered in a protective shroud as it sits on a platform at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Powerful Antenna Installed On Europa Clipper
The high gain antenna for the Europa Clipper recently underwent testing.
More
Europa Clipper's large high gain antenna, which is taller than a person and is painted dark black, is hoisted on mechanical supports on a large, multi-story room that has its floor, walls, and ceiling covered in blue foam triangles to avoid interference during testing.
High Gain Antenna Testing
Engineers prepare Europa Clipper's thermal imager for a series of tests in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory following delivery.
More
An engineer’s gloved hand on the casing holding the thermal imager instrument, located on a table in a clean room, preparing it for functional testing.
Thermal Imager Delivered to JPL
The flight model of Europa Clipper’s Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) instrument in a cleanroom at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. 
More
Shown is the flight model of Europa Clipper’s Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) instrument in a cleanroom at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. MISE will map the distribution of ices, salts, organics, and the warmest hotspots on Europa. In collaboration with the spacecraft’s other instruments – particularly the visible light cameras and ice-penetrating radar – infrared maps from MISE will help scientists understand Europa’s geologic history, which is one of the key characteristics that will help scientists determine if Europa’s suspected ocean is suitable for life.
MISE Assembly
This is an engineering model of Europa Clipper’s wide-angle camera, shown at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
More
This is an engineering model of Europa Clipper’s wide-angle camera, shown at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Europa Clipper's Europa Imaging System in the Works
This color image of the Jovian moon Europa was acquired by Voyager 2 during its close encounter on Monday morning, July 9, 1979. 
More
color view of cracked, icy surface
Europa During Voyager 2 Closest Approach