NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off on mission to Jupiter's moon
SUMMARY
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched on Sunday October 14th, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, beginning its mission to explore Jupiter's moon Europa. The $5.2 billion mission aims to investigate whether the subsurface ocean beneath Europa’s thick icy crust could support life. While it won’t directly search for organisms, it will assess the moon's habitability. Europa, discovered by Galileo in 1610, is believed to have a deep ocean beneath ice 10 to 15 miles thick. The spacecraft will reach Europa in 2030, flying as close as 16 miles to study the moon’s surface and potential geysers.
