Standing 10 feet (3 meters) high and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, the craft’s main body will be the main focus of attention, for the next two years, in the ultra-hygienic facility, as engineers and technicians assemble the spacecraft for its launch to Jupiter’s moon Europa in October 2024.
The propulsion module was designed and constructed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
NASA begun assembly of the Europa Clipper back in March and you can see more images of the spacecraft assembly process here.
Europa Clipper
The first science instrument to be completed, an ultraviolet spectrograph – one of a suite of nine – was delivered to JPL in Southern California, back in March by a team at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
Weighing 19.6kg, with a spectral range of 55-210 nanometers, it will separate the wavelengths of ultraviolet light to determine the composition of the moon’s surface and gases in the atmosphere, says the agency.
Engineering components and science instruments, from both the US and Europe, are expected to be assembled before the year’s end.
In terms of its dimensions, Nasa describes the final craft being as large as an SUV, with its solar arrays the length of a basketball court.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
See also: NASA begins assembly of its Jupiter bound Europa Clipper
