NASA is just weeks away from sending a spacecraft on a six-year journey to the Jupiter moon Europa, where the massive orbiter will get an unprecedented glimpse of an ocean world that scientists believe could harbor life.
The Europa Clipper's impending launch represents the start of a flagship mission for the U.S. space agency that has been years in the making. While NASA spacecraft have been busy studying asteroids, gas giants and terrestrial planets, ocean worlds have largely remained shrouded in mystery.
And though Europa has been imaged before, nothing has had been as close as the Clipper should get. When the uncrewed orbiter reaches the Jupiter's moon by 2030, it will begin the task of mapping and scanning above and beneath Europa's surface to determine whether the celestial body is indeed habitable, as scientists have long suspected.
Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s own moon and barely one-quarter the diameter of Earth, but beneath its surface is a vast salty ocean twice the size of Earth’s own oceans combined. Scientists have long theorized that the icy crust above the ocean conceals evidence of organic compounds and energy sources – ingredients that are the stuff of life.
With the launch window set to open as soon as 10 October, NASA officials provided an update on the Europa Clipper mission during a news conference. "Our journey of exploration and discovery is about to begin," said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, in prepared remarks. "This is an incredibly impressive mission."
Comments