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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft launched Monday to explore Jupiter's tantalizing moon Europa and see if its vast, hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.
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It will take Europa Clipper 5 and a half years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet and zip close to Europa in dozens of radiation-soaked flybys.
Scientists are almost certain that there is a deep global ocean beneath Europa's icy crust. And where there is water, there may be life, making the Moon one of the most promising places to hunt it.
Europa Clipper will not search for life; there are no life sensors. Instead, the spacecraft will focus on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues while peering under the ice for suitable conditions.
SpaceX kicked off Clipper's 3-billion-kilometer journey by launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An hour later, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, floated away, and called home.
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“Please say goodbye to Clipper on your way to Europe,” NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory flight director Pranay Mishra announced from southern California.
“The science on this is really engaging,” NASA deputy administrator Jim Free told The Associated Press at the launch site. Scientists are still learning about the depths of our own ocean, “and here we are looking so far.”
$5.2 billion mission almost derailed by transistors.
NASA only learned this spring that Clipper's transistors may be more susceptible to Jupiter's intense radiation field than expected. The Clipper will undergo the equivalent of several million chest X-rays during each of its 49 passes over Europe. The space agency spent months reviewing everything before concluding in September that the mission could proceed as planned.
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Hurricane Milton added to the anxiety by delaying the launch by several days.
“What a wonderful day. We are very excited,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin said after the launch.
The Clipper will be about the size of a basketball court with its solar wings extended and will fly past Mars and then Earth on its way to Jupiter to get gravity assists. The probe, weighing almost 13,000 pounds (5,700 kilograms), is expected to reach the solar system's largest planet in 2030.
Clipper will orbit Jupiter every 21 days. One day it will approach Europa, among Jupiter's 95 known moons, and will be similar in size to ours.
The spacecraft will fly just 25 kilometers above Europe – much closer than several previous visitors. The onboard radar will attempt to penetrate the Moon's ice cap, which is estimated to be 15-24 km or more thick. The depth of the ocean below may be 120 kilometers or more.
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The spacecraft carries nine instruments, and its sensitive electronics are stored in a vault with dense zinc and aluminum walls to protect against radiation. The search will last until 2034.
“Ocean worlds like Europa are unique not only because they may be habitable, but they may be habitable today,” NASA's Gina DiBraccio said on the eve of launch.
According to scientists, if conditions on Europa are found to be favorable for life, it will open up the possibility of life on other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond. With an underground ocean and geysers, Saturn's moon Enceladus is another prime candidate.
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