Skip Navigation
CLIPPER CAM
icon/broadcasting LIVE
menu close modal

All Resources

Main Computer Installation

Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Published: May 4, 2023

This video shows the installation of one of Europa Clipper’s Europa Compute Elements, which are the main computers of the spacecraft. The Europa Compute Elements, or ECE, is the host for the main flight software for the mission. The ECE receives the commands from the ground through the radio waves, and forwards those commands to different engineering and science instruments. Engineering telemetry and science data from different instruments are collected by the ECE. The data is temporarily stored in ECE memory and sent to the ground via radio waves, which are received by NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Related

An identical copy of Europa Clipper's propulsion module and electronics vault is lowered by crane in a static test tower.
More
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Europa Clipper's Developmental Test Model
Explore Europa and the Europa Clipper spacecraft with an immersive AR experience.
More
The Europa Clipper augmented reality experience layers Jupiter's moon Europa over any surface or background. The moon has options for the user to click on specific items to learn more information, such as the ingredients for life: water, energy, and chemistry. Following that, users an view a 3D model of the spacecraft and select individual instruments. Each section is narrated with audio.
ClipperAR: Europa Clipper Augmented Reality Experience
This animation segment shows NASA’s Europa Clipper flying by Mars during its Mars gravity assist. 
More
An animations showing the spacecraft flying by Mars during its Mars Gravity Assist, which will further propel the spacecraft toward Jupiter.
Mission Animation: Mars Gravity Assist
An engineer inspects the radio frequency (RF) panel of NASA’s Europa Clipper.
More
An engineer inspects the radio frequency (RF) panel of NASA’s Europa Clipper.
Inspecting Europa Clipper's RF Panel
Animation sequences showing NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft leaving Earth, deploying in space, journeying to the Jupiter system, and performing multiple flybys of Europa. 
More
Animation sequences showing NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft mission leaving Earth, deploying in space, journeying to the Jupiter system, and performing multiple flybys of the moon Europa.
Europa Clipper Mission Animations
A 3D model of the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX), a chemical analysis instrument on Europa Clipper.
More
3d model of maspex instrument
MASPEX
Scientists think there is an ocean within Jupiter's moon Europa. NASA-JPL astrobiologist Kevin Hand explains why scientists are so excited about the potential of this ice-covered world to answer on...
More
A tour of Europa and its possibilities for life.
Europa: Ocean World
Mihaela Ballarotto samples Europa Clipper's propulsion module for planetary protection cleanliness prior to harness installation. 
More
sampling of the propulsion module in the clean room
Europa Clipper Propulsion Module
Scientists put Europa Clipper’s ultraviolet spectrograph through its final calibrations prior to shipment to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
More
Scientists put Europa Clipper’s ultraviolet spectrograph through its final calibrations prior to shipment to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Ultraviolet Spectrograph Shipment Preparations
This artist's rendering shows NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is aiming for launch readiness by 2024.
More
artist's rendering of the Europa Clipper spacecraft with Europa and Jupiter in the background
2021 Europa Clipper Spacecraft (Artist's Concept)
The animation shows the geometry of the magnetic field created within Europa’s subsurface ocean as Europa moves through Jupiter’s magnetic field.
More
animation of the magnetic field created within Europa’s subsurface ocean as Europa moves through Jupiter’s magnetic field
Induced Magnetic Field from Europa's Subsurface Ocean
This animation segment shows the fairing separation after NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft leaves Earth. 
More
An animation showing the payload fairing, which is the nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload during launch, separating and revealing the Europa Clipper spacecraft after launch.
Mission Animation: Fairing Separation
An engineer testing the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) electronic box next to the partially assembled instrument in the cleanroom at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the Uni...
More
An image showing an engineer testing the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) electronic box next to the partially assembled instrument in the cleanroom at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Dust Analyzer Electronics Testing
Engineers and technicians in a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, integrate the tanks that will contain helium pressurant onto the propulsion module of NASA’s ...
More
Engineers and technicians in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, integrate the tanks that will contain helium onto the propulsion module of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Europa Clipper Propulsion Module: Integration Underway
Artist’s illustration of Jupiter and Europa (in the foreground) with the Galileo spacecraft after its pass through a plume erupting from Europa’s surface.
More
Artist’s illustration of Jupiter and Europa (in the foreground) with the Galileo .
Europa Scene: Plume, Galileo, Magnetic Field
Two major pieces of hardware – Europa Clipper’s vault, with the nadir deck attached – are prepared for a move to the High Bay 1 clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsi...
More
Two major pieces of flight hardware for the Europa Clipper spacecraft are attached to a flotron machine in a cleanroom. The hardware is visible in the rear middle of the images. The flotron is a large structure that allows the hardware to be rotated and moved for assembly purposes. The flight hardware consists of a large aluminum vault, which is shaped like a box. Within the vault, sensitive electronics will live, protecting them from radiation in Jupiter's environment. Attached the vault is a metal deck, called the nadir deck. Attached to this metal deck are multiple instrument sensors and cameras, which will allow the spacecraft to conduct science. Four engineers in full body coveralls and masks are seen working on flotron. An American flag is visible in the top left of the image.
NASA's Europa Clipper: Vault and Nadir Deck on Their Way
Build your own version of Europa Clipper, learning how each part of the spacecraft fits together as you go. 
More
Advanced paper model of Europa Clipper available for download.
Europa Clipper Paper Model (Advanced)
The Europa Clipper Solar Array Mechanical Simulator is shown installed on the spacecraft’s propulsion module.
More
Imaging showing the Europa Clipper Solar Array Mechanical Simulator
Solar Array Mechanical Simulator
Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer shown in a clean room.
More
The gold colored SUDA sensor head is shown resting on a table in a clean room, seen in the center left of this image. The cover to the sensor head is closed, and to the right a small, silver electronics box is visible. Combined, the pieces make up the entire SUDA instrument. The background space in the clean room is lit up purple.
Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer
Nitrogen gas is shown being pumped into the sensor head for Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer.
More
The SUDA sensor head is shown resting on a table in a clean room, seen on the right-hand side of the image. The sensor head is gold in color and looks slightly like a drum in shape. A clear tube is seen attached to the top, where nitrogen gas is pumped through. To the left of the sensor head, additional equipment is shown resting on the table. Above the table a fan device is shown hanging from the ceiling.
Dry Nitrogen Gas Pumped Through Europa Clipper's Dust Analyzer
The animation reveals how the Europa Clipper spacecraft’s own magnetic sources distort the ambient magnetic field near Europa.
More
animation of the complex magnetic fields of the Europa Clipper spacecraft
Europa Clipper Spacecraft Distortion of the Ambient Magnetic Field
In this activity, students learn how light and energy are spread throughout space.
More
Large solar panels for NASA's Juno spacecraft are visible in a clean room being deployed, surrounded by engineers in full body coveralls.
Classroom Activity: Inverse Square Law Demo
Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
More
Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Ultraviolet Spectrograph Delivered to JPL
An engineering model of Europa Clipper's MASPEX instrument.
More
An engineering model of Europa Clipper's MASPEX instrument.
MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX)
In this lab activity, students become materials scientists for a day.
More
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is visible in front of Saturn's moon Enceladus, which is seen as a white, frosty glove with plumes in the lower left of the moon. The space around it has a purple color.
Classroom Activity: Spacecraft Materials and the Chemistry of Space Exploration