Space & Cosmos

On the way to Jupiter, European Clippers capture the stars of the stars

The concept of NASA’s European Clippper spaceship artists. Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Three months after the release of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Agency European Clipper has a 1.6 billion miles (2.6 billion kilometers) before reaching Jupiter’s track in 2030. 。

On the other hand, a set of cameras that fulfill another purpose is to take a picture in a space between Earth and Jupiter. The two images called star trackers use them to find a star and use them as a compass that is useful for the mission controller to know the exact direction of the spaceship.

In early December, the first space image of the star clipper was filmed and sent a pair of the startracer (officially known as a star reference unit). The photos composed of three shots indicate a small light pimp lick from 150 to 300 light years. The starfield is only about 0.1 % of the sky around the spacecraft, but by mapping a star on a small slice in the sky, the orbits determine where it is, and itself it is correct. I will turn it.

The Starfield contains the four most bright stars (Giana, Algorab, Kraz, Archiba), the Latin language of the Greek’s mythical birds related to Apollo.

On the way to Jupiter, NASA's European clipper captures the stars

NASA’s European Clipper Mission engineers worked in a clean room of the Jet Promotion Research Institute in Agency in 2022 with spacecraft star trackers. The star tracker used for the direction of the spaceship can be found here with a red cover to protect the lens. Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Hardware check -out

In addition to Stargazers, the photo shows the successful check -out of Star Trackers. The spacecraft check -out phase has been ongoing since the European Clipper was released on SPACEX FALCON HEAVY ROCKET on October 14, 2024.

“Star tracker is an engineering hardware and is always photographed the images that are always installed,” said Jonine Nunnan, a Jet Promotion Research Institute in NASA in Southern California, led by mission guidance, navigation, and management operation. I am. “We usually do not downlink photos from trackers, but in this case, it is a really good way to confirm that the hardware, including the camera and the lens, was made safely while running. “

Pointing a spaceship correctly is not related to navigation. Navigation is another operation. However, the orientation using a star tracker is important for communication and science strategy, as in mission science operations. Engineers need to know where scientific equipment is directed. This includes a sophisticated European imaging system (EIS), which collects images that are useful for scientists to map the mysterious fractures of the moon, ridge and valleys. For at least three years, EIS has closed its protective cover.

EUROPA CLIPPER has a communication device used for gravitational science surveys in addition to nine scientific devices. During 49 European Flybys in the mission, the suite will collect data and tell scientists whether the moon in the ice and its inland sea have a life condition.

The spacecraft is already 53 million miles (85 million kilometers) from the earth, zip 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second) compared to the sun, and will quickly fly on Mars. On March 1, the engineer pilotes the craft with a loop around a red planet to increase the speed using gravity.

Quoted: On the way to Jupiter, European Cripper captures the star images (2025, February 4) https://phys.org/news/2025-02-en-Route on February 5, 2025 Obtained from -Jupiter-Europa-clipper.html

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