NASA Launches Europa Clipper to Explore on Jupiter's Icy Moon

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NASA has launched the Europa Clipper, its largest spacecraft to date, on a groundbreaking mission to explore one of Jupiter’s moons. The spacecraft lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Set to investigate Europa, a moon thought to have the potential to support life, the mission marks a significant step forward in planetary exploration. “This will pave the way for the future,” said Gina DiBraccio, acting director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.

The Europa Clipper is named after its destination, an icy world that scientists have long considered one of the most promising locations for finding extraterrestrial life. “For over 20 years, we scientists have dreamed of a mission like this,” stated Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Researchers believe Europa may harbor a subsurface ocean, heated by tidal forces from Jupiter’s immense gravity. “We think Europa has the right conditions for life beneath its icy crust—water, energy, chemistry, and stability,” explained Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s Science Directorate.