NASA's largest spacecraft developed for a planetary mission
Europa Clipper
NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the October 10 launch due to Hurricane Milton. A new launch date will be set after the storm passes. Europa Clipper has launch windows until Nov. 6.]
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, scheduled to launch soon, will conduct a detailed study of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. The main goal: To determine whether there are places below the surface of Europa that could support life.
Europa Clipper Launch
October 2024
Europa is one of the top candidates in our solar system for life beyond Earth. As currently understood, three of the main requirements for life are (1) liquid water, (2) chemistry—the building blocks of life, including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, and (3) energy. And data about Europa suggests it may offer all three. Europa shows strong evidence for a subsurface ocean of liquid water. Some of the essential chemical elements seem to be found within Europa’s icy shell, while others may be located within Europa’s core and/or ocean. Finally, chemical reactions within the moon could provide the needed energy for life. As a result, scientists are keenly interested in learning more about this moon.
After nearly 6 years of travel across the solar system, the Europa Clipper will perform 44 close flybys of the moon and investigate its habitability—whether or not the moon offers the conditions necessary to support life. Specifically, it will attempt to:
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Confirm Europa has a subsurface ocean, figure out the thickness and nature of the moon’s icy shell, and determine how the ocean interacts with the surface
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Investigate the composition of Europa's subsurface ocean to determine if it has the chemistry—the ingredients—to permit and sustain life
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Characterize the geology of Europa, studying how surface features formed as well as signs of recent activity
You can explore the science and the science fiction of Europa Prime here, learning about what’s true and what’s not here, location-by-location within the game.
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