NASA‘s
Europa
Clipper
mission
is
on
track
for
its
scheduled
October
10
launch,
aiming
to
explore
Jupiter’s
icy
moon,
Europa.
Scientists
believe
Europa
could
be
one
of
the
most
promising
places
to
find
the
conditions
for
life
beyond
Earth.
The
spacecraft
will
travel
1.8
billion
miles
(2.9
billion
kilometres)
to
study
whether
the
moon’s
icy
surface
hides
a
vast
ocean
beneath,
which
could
harbour
the
right
conditions
for
life.
The
mission,
however,
faces
challenges
due
to
intense
radiation
around
Jupiter.
Mission
preparations
and
potential
challenges
NASA’s
Europa
Clipper
will
launch
aboard
a
SpaceX
Falcon
Heavy
rocket
from
Kennedy
Space
Center
in
Florida.
Despite
concerns
over
some
defective
transistors
on
the
spacecraft,
the
mission
remains
on
schedule.
The
spacecraft
will
arrive
at
Jupiter
in
April
2030
and
conduct
49
flybys
of
Europa,
gathering
scientific
data
about
the
moon’s
environment.
Jordan
Evans,
Project
Manager
at
NASA’s
Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory
(JPL),
told Space.com that
intense
radiation
around
Jupiter
is
a
significant
challenge.
The
spacecraft
will
be
exposed
to
radiation
levels
equivalent
to
millions
of
chest
X-rays
during
each
flyby.
The
team
has
developed
a
trajectory
to
minimise
exposure,
allowing
the
spacecraft
to
complete
its
mission
and
return
valuable
data
to
Earth.
Investigating
Europa’s
icy
shell
and
subsurface
ocean
Europa
Clipper
will
use
its
suite
of
scientific
instruments
to
estimate
the
thickness
of
Europa’s
icy
crust
and
study
its
surface
for
signs
of
geological
activity.
Ann
Allen,
Deputy
Project
Scientist
at
the
National
Oceanographic
and
Atmospheric
Administration
(NOAA),
explained
that
the
spacecraft
will
search
for
organic
compounds,
though
it
will
not
directly
search
for
life.
Instead,
it
will
focus
on
finding
the
ingredients
that
could
make
life
possible
beneath
the
ice.
The
mission
is
designed
to
last
four
years
and
could
reveal
important
information
about
Europa’s
subsurface
ocean,
setting
the
stage
for
future
exploration.