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NASA/JPL-Caltech spacecraft

Europa Clipper

Also europa clipper

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Active mission, in cruise; Earth flyby 2026-12-03, Jupiter April 2030 (science.nasa.gov, page updated 2026-09-10).

Measured

Agency
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Launched
2024-10-14
From the Earth today
0.123 AU (18.4 million km)
Across its solar arrays
30.5 m

How far, from the Earth

18.4 million km. To cross it:

  • Light1 minute 1 second
  • Voyager 1's speed12.6 days
  • Driving at 100 km/h21 years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • JPL Horizons trajectory round the Sun: worst miss 435 km on the dates it was checked against (median 4 km); between those dates as much as about 1,300 km. Dates after the data was fetched are Horizons' predictions, which it revises as a mission flies. Horizons' own trajectory jumps by up to 4,000 km where one of its trajectory files hands over to the next (2027-01-23); the dot jumps with it.

Where this comes from

  • NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Spacecraft trajectories: JPL Horizons, NASA/JPL-Caltech; each mission's agency credited on its card.
  • 3D model: Europa Clipper model: NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.