NASA has finally selected Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its probe of Jupiter’s moon Europa. This moon apparently is believed to have liquid oceans that could harbour life in future.
The NASA in a statement said that the contract for the Europa Clipper mission which is scheduled to launch in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is worth 178 million dollars.
Europa, Jupiter’s moon is approximately 390 million miles (630 million kilometres) from earth. This journey is expected to take more than five years.
NASA in a statement said that Europa Clipper will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter’s moon. It will use a sophisticated suite of science instruments to probe whether Jupiter’s moon has conditions suitable for life.
Moreover, Europa Clipper’s payload will include cameras and spectrometers. These will produce high-resolution images and compositional maps of the surface and atmosphere, as well as radar to penetrate the ice layer to search for liquid water below.
Europa – a search for life
The key mission objectives will be to produce high-resolution images of Europa’s surface. It will help determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity and measure the thickness of the moon’s icy shell. Furthermore, the instruments will also search for subsurface lakes, and determine the depth and salinity of Europa’s ocean.
Earlier, this mission was supposed to take off on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. But it is marred by delays and cost overruns.
On the other hand, Falcon Heavy has deployed on both commercial and government missions since its first-ever flight in 2018. It was when the rocket had carried Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into space.
Since then it has been transporting cargo and crews to ISS in recent years.
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