NASA launches a spacecraft to find out if one of Jupiter’s moons could support life
(CNN) - NASA launched the Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft it has ever built, for a planetary mission on Monday.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket gave it a lift from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Its destination is a moon scientists think might be able to sustain life.
“This is going to pave the way for the future,” said Gina DiBraccio, acting director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.
NASA’s biggest planetary-mission spacecraft to date is set to explore a potentially habitable place for life beyond Earth.
The Europa Clipper is named after its destination, Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter.
“We scientists have been dreaming about a mission like Europa Clipper for more than 20 years,” said Laurie Leshin, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Scientists think the moon is one of the best bets in the solar system for sustaining life.
Under its surface, they said they believe it has an ocean with tides from Jupiter’s gravity that produce heat.
“Scientists believe Europa has the suitable conditions below its icy surface to support life. Its conditions are water, energy, chemistry and stability,” said Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator of NASA Science Directorate.
NASA says the Europa Clipper carries nine instruments for testing those conditions along with a gravity experiment.
“Given everything that we’ve really learned about necessary conditions for life, Clipper is going to tell us if Europa has all of these ingredients for life," DiBraccio said.
Don’t expect that data tomorrow.
The journey between Earth and Europa spans about 1.8 billion miles.
“It’s gonna be another 10 years because Jupiter is so far away until we have all the science in the bag," Leshin said.
On Sunday, SpaceX completed another feat. It launched the most powerful rocket ever built, then it managed to bring back the rocket’s 20-story high booster and catch it with huge metal arms.
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