NASA launches Europa Clipper mission to explore whether Jupiter's moon is habitable
Kyiv • UNN
NASA has launched the Europa Clipper spacecraft to study the living conditions on Jupiter's moon Europa. The probe will reach Jupiter's orbit in 2030 and will look for signs of organic compounds and water beneath Europa's icy surface.
On Monday, October 14, NASA launched a spacecraft to check whether Jupiter's moon Europa has conditions suitable for life. This was reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.
Details
The Europa Clipper spacecraft of the US space agency took off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
The solar-powered probe is set to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030 after traveling approximately 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km) in 5-1/2 years. The launch was scheduled for last week but was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
Reuters emphasizes that it is the largest spacecraft created by NASA for a planetary mission, measuring about 30.5 meters long and about 17.6 meters wide.
The ship is equipped with large solar panels, which are necessary to generate sufficient energy, as well as 9 instruments, including cameras for mapping the satellite's surface and radar to look under the thick ice cover of Europe.
The mission will also look for traces of organic compounds and gases to assess whether the moon is habitable.
For reference
Europa, with a diameter of approximately 3,100 km, is about 90% of the size of the Moon and is considered a potential habitat for life beyond Earth in our solar system. Its icy shell is believed to be 15-25 km thick, with several kilometers of ocean beneath.
Despite the fact that Europa, the fourth largest of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons, is only a quarter of the diameter of the Earth, its vast global ocean of salty liquid water may contain twice as much water as the Earth's oceans
Scientists believe that under the icy surface of Europe there are suitable conditions to support life. The conditions are water, energy, chemistry and stability
Recall
SpaceX has successfully returned the Super Heavy booster to Earth for the first time after the test launch of Starship Flight 5. A new method of return using Mechazilla metal levers was used, which confirms the effectiveness of future space travel.
