NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is set to embark on a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, a prime candidate for potentially harboring life. The spacecraft, equipped with nine scientific instruments, will investigate whether the conditions on Europa could support life within its subsurface ocean. While it won’t search for life directly, Clipper aims to determine the habitability of the moon by studying its icy crust, which is believed to conceal a potentially deep ocean.
With a planned liftoff this month aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, the mission comes with a price tag of $5.2 billion. Europa, one of Jupiter’s 95 moons, is comparable in size to Earth’s moon and is surrounded by an icy shell that hides a vast ocean beneath it. Scientists speculate that Europa’s ocean could host organic compounds necessary for life, along with thermal vents on the ocean floor that might serve as an energy source.
Clipper’s journey to Jupiter will span 1.8 billion miles, with plans to reach the gas giant in 2030 and commence its scientific work in 2031. The spacecraft will swoop within 16 miles of Europa’s surface, the closest approach by any mission so far. With the hope of unraveling the mysteries of Europa’s potential habitability, Clipper’s mission stands out as a step towards understanding the possibility of life beyond Earth in our solar system.
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