NASA’s Europa Clipper Sets Sail for Jupiter

Mission will investigate the potential habitability of the moon's subsurface ocean.

Alison Klesman

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 04:16 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Europa Clipper flies above the icy surface of its eponymous moon in this artist's concept. [Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched on October 14, 2024, embarking on a 5.5-year journey to arrive at Jupiter's moon Europa in 2030.
The mission's primary goal is to assess Europa's potential habitability by studying its believed subsurface saltwater ocean, ice shell, and composition using nine scientific instruments.
Europa is considered a highly compelling world for life due to its global ocean, tidal heating, and chemical building blocks, making this the first dedicated mission to thoroughly investigate it.
The spacecraft will perform 49 close flybys of Europa while orbiting Jupiter to manage intense radiation, concluding its mission in 2034 by impacting Ganymede to prevent potential contamination of Europa.

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NASA’s newest scientific flagship is on its way to the Jupiter system to explore the icy moon Europa, one of the most compelling worlds in our solar system.

The mission lifted off October 14 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Roughly an hour later, the spacecraft separated from its launch vehicle, embarking on a cruise through the inner solar system. A pair of gravity assists will ultimately slingshot it to Jupiter. The spacecraft will travel some 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) over the next 5½ years and reach the Jupiter system in 2030.