Does a frozen moon that orbits Jupiter have what it takes to support life? Scientists at NASA are hoping to find out.
Europa is the fourth-largest of Jupiter’s moons and has a saltwater ocean under its ice shell that has twice the amount of water contained in Earth’s oceans. Officials say that might mean it has the chemical elements necessary for life.
The Europa Clipper will explore that moon from above, looking for places below the planet’s surface that could support life. The spacecraft is set to lift off Monday at 12:06 p.m. ET. (The mission was originally scheduled for liftoff on Oct. 10, but was delayed due to the approach of Hurricane Milton.)
The Clipper’s instruments will perform a comprehensive survey of the planet, from its core and its 10- to 15-mile-thick ice shell to the oceans and thin atmosphere. Planning for the mission began in 2013, but was slow to become reality as NASA struggled to create a spacecraft that could withstand the radiation emanating from Jupiter (which is 20,000 times that found on Earth).
The spacecraft, the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, will travel 1.8 million miles to reach Jupiter in April of 2030. It will conduct 49 close flybys of Europa and orbit Jupiter. Flybys will take place every two or three weeks and will bring Clipper within 16 miles of the surface.
While the stated mission of the orbiter is to “determine if Europa has conditions suitable to support life,” scientists aren’t looking for existing life on the moon. They’re more interested to learn more about the composition of the ocean and what is behind plumes that have been seen shooting up through the ice.
And, of course, they want to know whether it’s habitable, as NASA says “abundant liquid water, energy, and the right chemical elements make Europa one of the best places in the solar system to seek present-day life beyond Earth.”