NASA Prepares To Launch ‘Europa Clipper’ On A Mission To Hunt For Life On Jupiter’s MoonNASA is gearing up for a landmark mission set to launch on Monday from Kennedy Space Center, aimed at exploring one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, in search of signs of alien life. The mission, known as Europa Clipper, is the space agency’s latest flagship endeavor, marking a significant step in the exploration of potentially habitable worlds beyond Earth.
The spacecraft will embark on an ambitious 1.8-billion-mile journey to Europa, a moon of Jupiter that has long intrigued scientists. Previous research suggests that beneath Europa’s frozen surface lies a vast saltwater ocean, making it a prime candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life. NASA shared its excitement in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “We’re going on a 1.8-billion-mile journey to an ocean world – Jupiter moon, Europa!”
A journey of 1.8 billion miles is about to begin.
All about NASA’s #EuropaClipper mission to explore Jupiter’s intriguing moon Europa: https://t.co/KX1yfEbiNu
Launch is slated for Monday, Oct. 14. Here’s how to watch: https://t.co/x4XNEuvd7U pic.twitter.com/qkUkVq39pT
— NASA Europa Clipper (@EuropaClipper) October 13, 2024
Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft ever developed by NASA for a planetary mission, was initially scheduled to launch earlier this month. However, its departure was delayed due to Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida on October 9-10. During the storm, both the spacecraft and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that will carry it into space were safely stored inside a SpaceX hanger at Kennedy Space Center, ensuring no damage occurred.
The mission comes with a hefty price tag, with the total cost of the spacecraft estimated at $5.2 million. Once launched, Europa Clipper will fly by Mars in February 2025, and then loop back to Earth in December 2026. These planetary flybys, known as “gravity assists,” will provide the spacecraft with the speed it needs to reach Jupiter by April 2030.
The spacecraft’s journey will eventually take it into orbit around Jupiter, where it will conduct 49 close flybys of Europa. During these flybys, Europa Clipper will use its nine science instruments to study the moon’s icy crust, its underlying ocean, and the moon’s atmosphere, collecting crucial data that could answer the age-old question: Does life exist elsewhere in our solar system?
One of the key features of Europa Clipper is its communication system, including a 10-foot-wide dish-shaped antenna, along with several smaller antennas. These will transmit the data collected back to Earth, a signal that will take around 45 minutes to reach us when the spacecraft is in orbit around Jupiter.
This mission follows the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission, which was launched earlier this year in April. Juice is set to study Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. However, while Juice is expected to reach Jupiter by July 2031, Europa Clipper will arrive a year earlier, in April 2030.
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