Europa Clipper will be launched on October 10 to study Jupiter’s moon

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – NASA announced that Europa Clipper, the first mission to conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter’s moon Europa, will launch on October 10.

It will mark the start of a more than five-year journey, expected to reach Jupiter in April 2030 after traveling 2.2 billion miles.

Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission, will orbit Jupiter and perform 49 short flights past Europa. With each orbit, the spacecraft will spend less than a day in the hazardous radiation zone near Europe before flying back out. Two to three weeks later the process will be repeated. The spacecraft carries nine scientific instruments and a gravity experiment that uses the telecommunications system. All scientific instruments will operate simultaneously on each pass.

There is scientific evidence that the ingredients for life may be present in Europe right now.

Europa Clipper’s main scientific goal is to determine whether there are places beneath the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa where life is possible.

The mission’s three main science objectives are to understand the nature of the ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the moon’s composition and geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

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