A NASA spacecraft, the Europa Clipper, soared into space on Monday, embarking on a groundbreaking mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, and investigate the potential for life in its vast hidden ocean, The Associated Press reports.
The spacecraft, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, will spend five and a half years traveling the 1.8 billion miles to Jupiter. Once it reaches the gas giant, it will enter orbit and execute dozens of close flybys of Europa, braving intense radiation levels to unlock the secrets of the moon’s enigmatic subsurface ocean.
Scientists strongly believe that a deep, global ocean exists beneath Europa’s icy crust. This vast reservoir of water, a key ingredient for life as we know it, makes Europa one of the most promising places in our solar system to search for extraterrestrial life.
While Europa Clipper is not equipped with life detectors, it will focus on identifying the necessary ingredients for life. The spacecraft will search for organic compounds and other clues as it probes beneath the ice, seeking suitable conditions for life to potentially thrive.
The $5.2 billion mission faced a significant hurdle in the spring when NASA discovered that the spacecraft’s transistors might be more vulnerable to Jupiter’s intense radiation field than initially thought. Each of the 49 Europa flybys will expose the spacecraft to the equivalent of several million chest X-rays, putting its sensitive electronics at risk. After months of review and analysis, NASA determined in September that the mission could proceed as planned.
The nearly 13,000-pound probe, roughly the size of a basketball court with its solar wings unfurled, will use gravity assists from Mars and Earth to gain momentum on its journey. Clipper is expected to reach Jupiter in 2030, entering an orbit that will bring it close to Europa every 21 days.
During these flybys, the spacecraft will skim as low as 16 miles above the moon’s surface, much closer than any previous spacecraft. Onboard radar will attempt to penetrate Europa’s ice sheet, estimated to be between 10 and 15 miles thick, to investigate the ocean believed to lie beneath. This ocean could be as deep as 80 miles or more.
The spacecraft is equipped with nine instruments, housed in a vault shielded by dense zinc and aluminum walls to protect them from radiation. The exploration phase will last until 2034.
If Europa’s conditions prove to be favorable for life, it would open up the possibility of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond. Scientists are particularly interested in Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, which also possesses an underground ocean and geysers, making it another prime candidate for life.
