NASA seeks life on Jupiter's moon Europa | LiveNOW from FOX

How will NASA’s mission to Europa contribute to space exploration?
23,408 views Oct 16, 2024
NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft launched Monday from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on a nearly six-year mission to Jupiter to see if it's possible to sustain life that far into space.

Liftoff happened at 12:06 p.m. from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center along Florida's coast. The Europa Clipper spacecraft is the largest spacecraft ever developed by NASA for a planetary mission. It is named after Jupiter's moon, Europa.

The Europe Clipper will travel 1.8 billion miles to reach Jupiter's moon, Europa. It's not expected to reach Jupiter until 2030.

According to NASA, the goal of the Europa Clipper mission is to "determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life."

"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," NASA said.

The Clipper will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter's moon. It is planned to make at least 50 flybys, NASA said. At its closest approach, the spacecraft will get as close at 16 miles above Europa's surface.

Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft ever developed by NASA for a planetary mission.

It features large solar arrays and radar antennas to collect enough light to power it to Jupiter. Jupiter is five times as far from the Sun as Earth, NASA said.

It is 16 feet tall, more than 100 feet wide, and weighs more than 7,000 pounds.
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