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A Journey to the End of Time

The Solar System in 3D, in real time

A simulation of the Solar System driven by real ephemerides. The Sun, the planets, Pluto and the major moons, space probes, the International Space Station, nearby stars and the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way are where they really are at the chosen moment. You can run time from 1700 to 2100, fly from one object to another and look at the sky from anywhere on Earth.

Europa Clipper

Space probe

Facts

Launch
14 October 2024
Arrival at Jupiter
April 2030
Journey
2.9 billion km
Flybys of Europa
49
Solar array span
more than 30 m

Europa Clipper is a NASA probe that set off on 14 October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket, bound for Jupiter: its task is to find out whether the moon Europa has habitable conditions today.

Beneath Europa's ice there is thought to be a salty ocean holding twice as much water as Earth's ocean.

A gravity assist from Mars in 2025 and another from Earth on 3 December 2026 put it on course for Jupiter.

Sources