Can Life Exist On An Icy Moon? NASA's Latest Mission Aims To Find Out!
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NASA’s latest mission takes the search for life to new frontiers — this time to Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa. On October 14, 2024, the Europa Clipper spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to uncover the secrets of this distant moon.
About an hour and 10 minutes after launch, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft — the largest-ever built for a planetary mission — had successfully entered orbit. Shortly after, Europa Clipper deployed its massive solar arrays, which will power the spacecraft throughout its long journey.
"Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for beginning the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Why Europa?
Europa is considered one of the top candidates for alien life because it may have the three key ingredients necessary for life: liquid water, energy, and the right chemical elements. Scientists believe that under Europa's icy crust lies a large saltwater ocean. It may contain twice as much water as Earth’s oceans.
The icy moon's energy source likely comes from the way Jupiter’s gravity pulls on it. It stretches and squeezes Europa’s interior, creating heat. This heat prevents Europa’s underground ocean from freezing. It might even support certain forms of life. Furthermore, Europa’s surface may have essential elements for life, like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Together, these factors could create conditions that support microbial life.
Getting to Europa
Jupiter is about 480 million miles (772 million km) from Earth. However, Europa Clipper will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.8 billion km) over 5.5 years to reach its destination. This long journey is because the spacecraft needs to use "gravity assist" maneuvers to gain speed. For its first boost, Europa Clipper will fly past Mars in February 2025. Then, in December 2025, it will swing by Earth for a final push, putting it on course for Europa.
The Mission
If all goes as planned, Europa Clipper will enter Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030. It will spend about a year preparing for its first flyby of the moon. Over the next three years, the spacecraft will fly over Europa 49 times. Each pass will be over a different area, to map the entire moon. Although it will not land on Europa, the spacecraft will get as close as 16 miles (25 km) to its surface.
The data collected by Europa Clipper's nine instruments will help scientists estimate the thickness of Europa’s icy shell and better understand the ocean beneath it. They also hope to learn more about the composition of the water.
NASA asserts that the mission's goal is not to directly search for life on Europa. It is to determine if there are areas below the icy moon's surface that could support life. Once its mission is complete, the massive spacecraft will deliberately crash into the surface of Ganymede — Jupiter's largest moon and the biggest moon in our solar system.
"By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our Sun," Nelson said.
Resources: LiveScience.com, CNN.com, NASA.gov
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31 Comments
dogpeople6009 daysWow so cool! I love space! ❤
orcaswiminspace9 daysWow thats so cool that there could be an ocean under the ice! I <3 space
birdie20128 daysYES!- hcbroughton9 daysI know right!
