NASA's Europa Clipper Probe Deploys 1st Science Instruments En Route To Jupiter

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NASA's Europa Clipper mission has successfully deployed two of its science instruments as it makes its way to the Jupiter system.

Launched on Oct. 14, the Europa Clipper spacecraft is currently en route to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa , which is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean. The mission lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It has since ventured 13 million miles (20 million kilometers) from Earth, traveling at a speed of 22 miles per second (35 kilometers per second) relative to the sun, according to a statement from NASA.

Recently, the magnetometer's boom and several antennas for the spacecraft's radar instrument were deployed and will remain extended from the spacecraft for the full duration of the mission.

"It's an exciting time on the spacecraft, getting these key deployments done," Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in the statement. "Most of what the team is focusing on now is understanding the small, interesting things in the data that help them understand the behavior of the spacecraft on a deeper level. That's really good to see."

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