If everything goes according to plan, on Thursday, October 10, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will go on a long journey to Jupiter's moon Europa. It will be launched on board a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Space Center. Kennedy in Florida.
The launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, which will carry the probe into space, is scheduled for 5:31 p.m. on Thursday, October 10.
A mighty ocean
Europa Clipper is the first mission NASA dedicated to the study of the ocean environment beyond Earth. Its goal is to check whether Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa may have conditions favorable for habitation beyond Earth. It is estimated that there is an ocean on Europa's surface that contains twice as much water as Earth's oceans combined. There may also be organic compounds and substances that are a source of energy on the surface.
Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft ever built. Its length is 30.5 meters and width – 17.6 m. It resembles the size of a basketball court with wings in the form of solar panels.
Europa Clipper is the size of a basketball courtNASA/JPL-Caltech
Billions of kilometers to travel
Jupiter is about 770 million kilometers from Earth, but in total the spacecraft will travel almost three billion kilometers. The probe's route leads near Mars, whose gravitational force is to be used like a slingshot to increase its speed. After five and a half years of travel, Europa Clipper will fire up its engines to enter the planet's orbit in 2030. It is scheduled to conduct 49 close flybys of the moon. While conducting research, the ship will be located in one of the most harmful radiation environments in the Solar System, second only to the Sun. Jupiter is surrounded by a gigantic magnetic field, 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. To date, NASA has spent over five billion dollars building the probe. Since the mission was officially approved in 2015, more than four thousand people have contributed to Europa Clipper.
Main photo source: NASA/JPL-Caltech