A spacecraft that will study one of Jupiter’s moons launched Monday on a journey of more than six years to discover if the moon has the ability to support life.
The solar-powered spacecraft Europa Clipper ascended above clear skies through Earth’s atmosphere on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It is expected to reach Jupiter in April 2030 to study Europa, the icy-surfaced moon, which is roughly the size of Earth’s moon and thought to have “ingredients for life,” such as water, NASA says.
"Europa could have all the ingredients for life as we know it," NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said on a media call on Sunday. "Water, organics, chemical energy and stability. What we discover at Europa will have profound implications for the study of astrobiology and how we view our place in the universe."