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NASA's Europa Clipper will soon launch to explore Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, searching for conditions that could support alien life. The mission aims to investigate Europa’s potential to host life beneath its icy surface.
Credit: NASA
The spacecraft is set to launch in the coming weeks, though the original window starting October 10 has been delayed due to Hurricane Milton. The mission’s goal is to gather critical data on Europa’s habitability.
Credit: NASA
Europa is believed to have a vast liquid ocean beneath its icy shell, kept warm by Jupiter's gravitational pull. Water is a key ingredient for life as we know it, making Europa a prime candidate for extraterrestrial life.
Europa Clipper is the largest planetary exploration spacecraft NASA has ever built, roughly the size of a basketball court when its solar arrays are fully extended. It weighs around 6,000 kilograms.
Equipped with nine instruments, including a wide-angle camera, thermal imagers, and spectrometers, Europa Clipper will study Europa’s surface geology, ocean depth, and the thickness of its ice shell.
The spacecraft will perform dozens of flybys, investigating potential regions where life could exist beneath the surface. It will search for thermal activity and plumes of water that might eject from Europa's subsurface ocean.
Instruments like the mass spectrometer will analyze Europa's thin atmosphere and potential water plumes, offering clues about the moon’s ocean composition and its ability to harbor life.
Europa’s surface is bombarded by intense radiation from Jupiter, making surface life unlikely. However, the thick ice shell might protect a subsurface ocean where life could thrive.
Europa Clipper will take over five years to reach Jupiter, conducting multiple flybys of Europa to collect data. The mission will help determine if future missions should drill into the ice for direct exploration.
While the Clipper won’t directly search for life, it will assess the habitability of Europa’s ocean, paving the way for future missions to explore deeper into this fascinating moon.