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Europa Clipper Rolls Into KSC's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility

Europa Clipper is rolled into the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility while workers stand nearby.
Source: NASA/Isaac Watson
Published: May 24, 2024
Historical Date: May 23, 2024

NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Slated to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket later this year from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy, Europa Clipper will help determine if life-sustaining conditions exist below the surface Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa.

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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Staff Engineer Yvette Tyler performs integration and testing on the electronics box for Europa Clipper’s mass spectrometer. 
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Image showing Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Staff Engineer Yvette Tyler performs integration and testing on the electronics box for Europa Clipper’s mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer will analyze gases in Europa’s faint atmosphere and possible plumes. It will study the chemistry of the moon’s suspected subsurface ocean, how ocean and surface exchange material, and how radiation alters compounds on the moon’s surface. Credit: NASA/SwRI
Mass Spectrometer Electronics Box
One of Europa Clipper’s star tracker optical heads in a JPL clean room for testing.
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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.
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Join team members from NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to learn about testing of the spacecraft’s magnetometer.
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Video giving an update on Europa Clipper's magnetometer.
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This video shows a test deployment of Europa Clipper’s high frequency (HF) radar antenna.
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Engineers following initial inspections of Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
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Engineers giving thumbs ups following initial inspections of Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
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The high gain antenna for the Europa Clipper recently underwent testing.
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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.
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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)’s Brandon Perez (mechanical engineer; left) and Bryan Esquivel (technician; right) prepare to install electrical boards into the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph ...
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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)’s Brandon Perez (mechanical engineer; left) and Bryan Esquivel (technician; right) prepare to install electrical boards into the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS) instrument, tipped up to show a top view.
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An engineer prepares the ion detector for integration to the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) sensor head at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulde...
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An image showing an engineer prepares the ion detector for integration to the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) sensor head at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder. SUDA is extremely sensitive and will be able to detect amino acids in concentrations as low as one part per million within water ice.
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A 3D model of the Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM), a plasma and magnetic field instrument on Europa Clipper. 
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ECM
This image shows a close-up view of terrain within the region of Europa's surface named Conamara.
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An engineer makes an electrical connection to the sensor head for Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer.
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An engineer in white full-body coveralls, a mask, and light blue gloves is shown attaching a wire to the SUDA sensor head. Only the top of the sensor head is visible, and is seen on the lower right portion of the image. The sensor head is gold in color. In the distance, engineers work on other components in the clean room.
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This animation segment shows the deployment of NASA’s Europa Clipper ECM boom after launch.
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This animation shows a boom expanding from the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
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Europa Clipper’s dust analyzer shown in a clean room.
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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.
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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) staff collaborate on the calibration of the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX) instrument, developed and built at SwRI. 
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Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) staff collaborate on the calibration of the MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX) instrument, developed and built at SwRI. Kurt Franke (spectrometer engineering lead) points out a mass peak during the MASPEX flight model first calibration run to, clockwise, Kelly Miller (calibration lead), Greg Miller (spectrometer design lead), and Paul Hoeper (software lead).
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An accelerometer is attached to a plasma instrument sensor assembly during a vibration test.
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An accelerometer is attached to a plasma instrument sensor assembly during a vibration test.
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This animation segment shows NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft leaving Earth. 
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An animation showing the rocket carrying the Europa Clipper spacecraft leaving Earth.
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The towering core of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is shown in the storied Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
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In a large white multistory room, the main body of the Europa Clipper spacecraft rests upon a stand as it takes its position in the ultra-hygienic High Bay 1 in the JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility. The main body is composed of a shiny metallic cylinder with wiring and electronics attached to it. Two people in full white coveralls and masks crouch next to the main body. A person in full coveralls and a mask stands in the distance watching. On the right, two additional people in coveralls and masks watch the work being done on the main body of the spacecraft, with one pointing at the main body. In the distance, the cleanroom's wall of fame is visible, with the identifiers of previous missions that have been assembled in the cleanroom.
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Engineers stand next to Europa Clipper's wide-angle camera in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, following its delivery in June 2022. 
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Jupiter's moon Europa, as seen in this image taken June 27, 1996 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, displays features in some areas resembling ice floes seen in Earth's polar seas. 
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A plasma instrument sensor assembly is mounted on a vibration table.
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