{"id":62763,"date":"2024-08-30T07:23:30","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T07:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2dc4807c-81d7-4e93-86f0-13f4eb86399c"},"modified":"2024-08-30T08:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T08:39:44","slug":"nasas-jupiter-moon-mission-has-been-given-its-solar-arrays-and-its-now-bigger-than-a-basketball-court","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/nasas-jupiter-moon-mission-has-been-given-its-solar-arrays-and-its-now-bigger-than-a-basketball-court\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Jupiter moon mission has been given its solar arrays, and it’s now bigger than a basketball court"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europa Clipper needs huge solar arrays to power it within the cold darkness of Jupiter’s shadow. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 30 August 2024 at 07:23 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The Europa Clipper mission is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration, and has been fitted with huge solar arrays that will power its exploration of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.<\/p>

Europa Clipper was fitted with the solar arrays at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, in August 2024.<\/p>

Each of these solar ‘wings’ measures 46.5 feet (14.2 metres) long and 13.5 feet (4.1 metres) tall, and when they’re fully deployed in space, the spacecraft will span over 100 feet (30.5 metres), making it longer than a professional basketball court.<\/p>