NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles to study Jupiter’s moon Europa believed to have a global ocean with essential elements for life. (Video: NASA)
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – After Hurricane Milton delayed NASA’s mission to Jupiter‘s moon Europa, SpaceX has a better forecast on Monday to try again and launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft from Florida.
SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket with NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launchpad 39A at 12:06 p.m. ET. NASA and SpaceX will stream live coverage of the countdown beginning at 11 a.m. ET on NASA.gov.
The spacecraft was initially slated to launch on Oct. 10, but Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast the day prior, causing widespread destruction across the Sunshine State, including on Florida’s Space Coast.
JUPITER’S MOON EUROPA PRODUCES ENOUGH OXYGEN TO KEEP A MILLION HUMANS BREATHING FOR A DAY
Kennedy Space Center’s Damage Assessment and Recovery Team completed a review of the center and its facilities to determine whether it was safe to resume work and proceed with the launch of Europa Clipper.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission.
(SpaceX)
NASA required SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket with three boosters to send the Europa Clipper spacecraft on its journey. The spacecraft is the largest NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission and weighs nearly 13,000 pounds with fuel, about the same weight as an African elephant.
About one hour after liftoff, the spacecraft will separate from the Falcon’s second stage and begin its 1.8-billion-mile trek to reach the Jovian system. Once in space, Europa Clipper’s solar arrays will open, making the spacecraft about as long as a basketball court.
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE CAPTURES JUPITER’S SWIRLING WEATHER, COLORFUL AURORAS AND RINGS
Europa Clipper will spend nearly five years reaching its destination and complete the first detailed study of the moon Europa with a suite of nine instruments, including cameras and ice-penetrating radar. Scientists believe a global ocean lies beneath Europa’s icy crust, which may contain twice as much liquid as Earth’s oceans and the ingredients for life.
This photograph of the Jovian moon Europa was taken in June 1997 at a range of 776,700 miles by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft.
(NASA)
Throughout its mission, the spacecraft will complete nearly 50 flybys of Europa, investigating the salty ocean beneath its surface to understand its geology and how the ocean below interacts with the icy crust above.
Europa Clipper is expected to arrive in Jupiter’s orbit by April 2030.