On October 10, 2024, NASA launched the Europa Clipper mission, aimed at exploring Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, to determine if there is life in its subsurface ocean. The spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
The Europa Clipper will first travel towards Mars, using gravitational assists to increase its speed towards Earth, before making another gravitational assist maneuver to accelerate towards Jupiter. The spacecraft is expected to reach Jupiter by April 11, 2030, with a total mission cost of $5 billion.
According to researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, the spacecraft will take about a year to adjust its orbit, during which it will make approximately 50 flybys of Europa. These flybys will allow scientists to analyze the moon's depth and habitability of the ocean beneath its thick ice layer.
Notably, while the mission is focused on Europa, the spacecraft will orbit Jupiter instead of Europa to protect itself from radiation, as Jupiter has a strong magnetic field that could damage the spacecraft if it remains in close proximity for extended periods. The spacecraft has been specially designed to withstand such radiation.