NASA’s Europa Clipper space probe, which is now heading toward Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, has made a flyby of Mars. On March 1, the spacecraft flew at a distance of 880 km from the surface of the Red Planet and took unique images using the E-THEMIS infrared camera on board the probe.
Instrument calibration by Mars
The E-THEMIS (Europa Thermal Imaging System) camera, developed for the Europa exploration, has captured the temperature features of Mars. The images show how the warmest areas are near the equator and the coldest areas are in the polar ice caps. Scientists created a color composite from thousands of black-and-white images, allowing them to visualize the distribution of heat on the planet.
“Mars is an ideal object to calibrate,” explained Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, leader of the E-THEMIS team, “We know its surface in detail thanks to 20 years of data. If our measurements match, it means the instruments are ready for Europa.”
To the ocean beneath the ice
The main goal of Europa Clipper is to explore Europa’s underground ocean hidden under a 25-kilometer layer of ice. The E-THEMIS camera will help study cracks and ridges on the moon’s surface that were likely formed by water ejections from the depths. “If these zones are warmer than the surrounding ice, it could indicate ocean activity. Even old emissions that happened millennia ago can leave a heat signature,” Christensen added.
In addition to the camera, the Martian flyby tested the radar, which will later explore the depths of Europa’s ice. All systems are stable, giving hope for mission success.
Long way to Jupiter
The Europa Clipper mission was launched in October 2024. Its journey to Jupiter will last six years. Arrival is expected in 2030. To that point, the probe will have performed a series of gravitational maneuvers, using Earth and Venus to gain speed and save fuel.
The Martian stage was a key step: it not only shortened the travel time but also confirmed that the spacecraft was ready for the main challenge of unraveling the mystery of the ocean, where the conditions for life might exist. As NASA notes, if Europa has water, it could become the second “blue world” in the solar system.
We previously reported on how the constellation Corvus helped orient the Europa Clipper mission.
According to NASA
