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NASA’s Europa Clipper has started its lengthy journey towards Jupiter, where it will explore Europa, a moon that is believed to harbor a vast ocean beneath its icy surface, potentially suitable for life. The spacecraft took off at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Europa Clipper is NASA’s largest-ever spacecraft designed for a mission targeting another planet and marks the agency’s first venture specifically aimed at studying an oceanic body beyond Earth. The spacecraft will cover a staggering 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) while utilizing gravity assists, first making a detour to Mars in four months and then looping back to Earth for another assist in 2026. Once it starts orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, it will conduct 49 flybys of Europa.
“Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for commencing this groundbreaking journey to an oceanic world beyond Earth,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA is at the forefront of exploration and discovery, and this mission exemplifies that spirit. By probing the unknown, Europa Clipper aims to deepen our understanding of the potential for life, not only within our solar system but across the countless moons and planets that lie beyond our Sun.”
About five minutes after liftoff, the second stage of the rocket ignited, and the payload fairing, which is the upper part of the rocket, opened to reveal the Europa Clipper. Approximately an hour post-launch, the spacecraft detached from the rocket. Shortly after, ground controllers received a signal, and by 1:13 p.m., two-way communication was established with NASA’s Deep Space Network in Canberra, Australia. The mission team celebrated as initial data confirmed that Europa Clipper was healthy and functioning as intended.
“We are beyond excited for the exceptional and groundbreaking science that NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will unveil for generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA’s scientific endeavors are all interconnected, and the discoveries made by Europa Clipper will enhance the understanding created by our past missions that explored Jupiter, including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager, as we search for worlds that could support life beyond our own.”
The primary objective of the mission is to assess whether Europa possesses the right conditions to support life. Although Europa is similar in size to our Moon, its internal structure differs significantly. Data from NASA’s Galileo mission in the 1990s provided compelling evidence of a vast, saline ocean beneath Europa’s icy exterior, containing more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists have also identified signs that Europa could contain organic materials and energy sources beneath its surface.
If the findings indicate that Europa is indeed habitable, it could suggest that there are many more potentially habitable worlds within our solar system and beyond than we previously envisioned.
“We are thrilled to launch Europa Clipper on its quest to explore a potentially habitable oceanic world, thanks to the efforts of our talented colleagues and partners who have brought us to this moment,” mentioned Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Europa Clipper is set to deliver astonishing scientific insights. While it is always a mix of emotions to send something we’ve poured our hearts into for many years off on this long mission, we are confident that this remarkable team and spacecraft will enhance our understanding of our solar system and inspire future explorations.”
In 2031, the spacecraft will begin its science-focused flybys of Europa, coming as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the moon’s surface. Equipped with nine scientific instruments and a gravity experiment, Europa Clipper carries tools like ice-penetrating radar, cameras, and thermal sensors to search for warmer areas of ice and possible water eruptions. This collection of state-of-the-art science instruments represents the most advanced set sent to Jupiter by NASA, working in unison to gather information about Europa’s icy crust, thin atmosphere, and deep underground structure.
To power these instruments amidst the faint sunlight at Jupiter, Europa Clipper is outfitted with the largest solar panels ever utilized in an interplanetary mission by NASA. When the panels are fully extended, the spacecraft measures 100 feet (30.5 meters) across. When loaded with propellant, its weight is around 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms).
Overall, over 4,000 individuals have been involved with the Europa Clipper mission since it was approved in 2015.
“As Europa Clipper sets off on its expedition, I am reminded of the countless hours of hard work, creativity, and collaboration that made this moment achievable,” expressed Jordan Evans, project manager at NASA JPL. “This launch signifies not just a new chapter in our exploration of the solar system, but also a significant step towards unraveling the secrets of another oceanic world, fueled by our collective curiosity and our ongoing quest to answer the intriguing question: ‘Are we alone?'”
More About Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper is driven by three core scientific goals: to assess the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and how it interacts with the ocean beneath, to analyze its composition, and to characterize its geological features. The mission’s thorough examination of Europa will enhance scientists’ understanding of the potential for life-supporting worlds beyond Earth.
Operated by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA JPL oversees the Europa Clipper mission in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) located in Laurel, Maryland, as part of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The primary spacecraft structure was conceptualized by APL with contributions from NASA JPL, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall manages the program operations of the Europa Clipper mission.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, handled the launch services for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
For more information on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/
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