NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has begun its six-year journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa after lifting off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on October 14, 2024, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, which costs about $5 billion, will investigate whether the vast saltwater ocean beneath Europa’s frozen crust could support life.
The launch was originally scheduled for October 10 but was delayed by Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida’s Space Coast. Engineers rolled the spacecraft back into SpaceX’s hangar until conditions cleared. NASA had a launch window lasting until November 6, giving teams time to safely prepare.
Once it arrives in 2030, Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter rather than Europa itself to avoid the intense radiation around the moon. From there, the spacecraft will perform nearly 50 close flybys of Europa, using an array of scientific instruments to map its surface, probe beneath its icy shell, and measure the composition of its thin atmosphere.
Scientists believe Europa is one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for alien life. Beneath its thick ice lies an ocean that may be twice the size of all Earth’s oceans combined. With water, chemistry, and energy sources, Europa could have the right conditions for life, making it a top target for exploration.
The spacecraft, roughly the size of a basketball court due to its massive 100-foot solar arrays, is fitted with advanced instruments. These include high-resolution cameras, infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers, a powerful radar system to measure ice thickness, and mass spectrometers designed to analyze water vapor plumes that may erupt from Europa’s surface.
Some of the key instruments are the Europa Imaging System, capable of capturing 90% of the surface; the REASON radar system, which will search for underground oceans; and MASPEX, which can sample gases from potential plumes as the spacecraft flies through them. Together, these instruments will determine whether Europa’s hidden ocean is truly habitable.
Although Europa Clipper will not directly search for life, it will provide critical data to prepare for future missions that could land, drill through the ice, and access the ocean below. NASA scientists say that while this will remain a challenge for decades ahead, Europa Clipper is a necessary step toward answering one of humanity’s biggest questions: Are we alone in the universe?