High-Frequency Antennas Have Been Installed on the Solar Wings of America's Next Jupiter-bound Orbiter...

NASA / Glenn Benson

NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Array Antenna Install (Photo Release)

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft which will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if the planet has conditions that could support life.

The REASON (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface) instrument will use the antennas to send both High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves to penetrate up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) deep and search the ocean, measure ice thickness, and study the topography, composition and roughness of Europa’s surface.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will ship to Florida later this year from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A - targeting October.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Isaac Watson


NASA / JPL - Caltech