Our solar system has a number of worlds with water, but is Earth the only one with the right environment to support life? That’s the question NASA’s Europa Clipper aims to answer.
Europa Clipper is the first mission dedicated to studying Jupiter’s moon Europa, which scientists believe has a salty ocean under its icy shell. While not designed to detect life, the spacecraft is equipped with nine science instruments and a gravity experiment, which will all help determine whether this moon could be habitable. Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter and make 49 flybys of Europa, taking detailed measurements and high-resolution pictures.
Europa Clipper is set to launch in October 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, arriving at Jupiter in 2030. Watch it lift off live: https://plus.nasa.gov
For more information on Europa Clipper: https://europa.nasa.gov/
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/KSC/APL/Airbus
#NASA #Space #EuropaClipper
Author: NASA
Go to Source
News post in at: September 14, 2024, 9:03 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News.Science – News Science
