NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is planned to launch at 9:06 a.m. PDT on Monday, Oct. 14, with additional windows through Nov. 6 should there be any issues, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A. It will fly by Jupiter’s watery moon 49 times, coming as close as 16 miles from the surface as it searches for ingredients of life.
When Europa Clipper extends its massive solar panels, the spacecraft could span the length of a basketball court (100 feet) from tip to tip. If all goes to plan, it will begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and in 2031, Europe Clipper should start making those 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant.
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Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet,” said the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
