A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. After launch, the spacecraft plans to fly by Mars in February 2025, then back by Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum. With help of these “gravity assists,” Europa Clipper will achieve the velocity needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA’s Europa Clipper has successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:06 EDT on October 14, 2024.
The mission, NASA’s first dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth, will investigate the icy moon Europa, which is believed to harbour a subsurface ocean with potential conditions for life. After a 1.8 billion-mile journey that includes gravity assists from Mars and Earth, the spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in April 2030 and begin 49 flybys of Europa in 2031.
Equipped with nine science instruments, Europa Clipper will explore Europa’s icy shell, atmosphere, and deep ocean, searching for signs of organic compounds and energy sources. The spacecraft, with solar arrays spanning 100 feet, is the largest ever built for a planetary mission.
Mission control confirmed Europa Clipper’s health and stable communication shortly after launch. Scientists hope the mission will shed light on whether Europa could support life, contributing to the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth.
