NASA's Europa Clipper Captures Image of Uranus

NASA's Europa Clipper has captured a remarkable image of Uranus using its star tracker camera. This event occurred on November 5, 2025, while the spacecraft was roughly 2 billion miles, or 3.2 billion kilometers, away from the planet.

The star-tracking cameras are primarily designed to maintain the spacecraft's orientation, and this particular image represents only 0.1% of the full sky around Europa Clipper. In the captured image, Uranus appears as a larger dot located near the left side, amidst a backdrop of various stars.

Additionally, an animated GIF created from a pair of images taken ten hours apart shows Uranus moving slightly against the stationary stars, demonstrating the effectiveness of the star tracker. The Europa Clipper, which launched in October 2024, is currently en route to the Jupiter system, where it aims to conduct around 50 flybys of Europa.

The spacecraft's primary objective is to investigate whether there are conditions beneath Europa's icy shell that could support life. The mission focuses on three main scientific goals: determining the thickness of the moon's icy crust, studying its interaction with the underlying ocean, and analyzing its geological features.

The insights gained from the Europa Clipper's exploration are expected to enhance our understanding of astrobiological potential on other celestial bodies beyond Earth. This successful imaging of Uranus not only showcases the capabilities of the Europa Clipper but also underscores the ongoing exploration of the outer solar system, paving the way for future discoveries.

For further details on the mission and Europa, you can visit NASA's science website.