NASA is sending out the “Europa Clipper” to one of Jupiter’s moons “Europa”. It will be launching October 10, 2024 to determine if Europa has the conditions to sustain life.
NASA’s plan is to send Europa Clipper out to get a better understanding of Europa, along with studying surface of its ice shell and what’s underneath it. This is NASA’s largest planetary mission in the spacecraft designed for such travels. According to NASA, the mission is so large because of the solar arrays required to collect light needed for success.
The spacecraft is 16 feet in height, without the solar arrays expanded; it is 100 feet when they are open. According to NASA, this spacecraft is supposed to circle around Europa about 50 times. At the same time, it will record any measurements needed to further analyze if the moon is habitable for life. During this investigation, scientists have 3 main objectives: to figure out the thickness of the ice shell and determine how the ocean beneath the ice shell works, to determine if the ocean meets the requirements to have and sustain life, and to get a better understanding of Europa’s surface and geology.
Scientists say that Europa is one of the planets, besides Earth, that has shown signs of potential life. A major sign of life noticed is the ocean filled with water that holds up to 2 times as much water that Earth has. Scientists have been unsuccessful in finding life on a planet that is not Earth for many years now. If there is life that can be sustainable in Europa, a massive discovery will have been made.
