TARLAKENYO (October 15, 2024) — The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration successfully launched the highly anticipated Europa Clipper mission this morning, Philippine time, to look for life in one of Jupiter’s 95 moons.
The spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket towards Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. This mission will investigate the moon’s potential to support life by examining its subsurface ocean, which is believed to exist beneath a thick layer of ice.
The Europa Clipper will conduct nearly 50 flybys of Europa after arriving in the Jupiter system in 2030. The spacecraft is equipped with nine scientific instruments designed to analyze Europa’s surface and atmosphere and to search for signs that it could harbor microbial life.
The mission is significant because scientists believe Europa’s ocean could be one of the best places in our solar system to find life today.
