Recently, A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

About Europa Clipper Mission

• The Europa Clipper is NASA’s largest spacecraft for planetary exploration, with an estimated mission cost of $5.2 billion
• Aims: To place a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter to perform a detailed investigation of Europa.
• Mission Objective: 
  • To find out if the ice-encased moon Europa could be habitable.
  • Europa shows strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. 

Important science instruments with spacecraft

• Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS): Measures magnetic fields to detect the ocean’s properties.
• Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE): Identifies surface composition.
• Europa Imaging System (EIS):  Captures high-resolution images.
• Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding Ocean to Near-surface (REASON):Probes beneath the ice to study the subsurface structure.
• Europa Clipper Magnetometer :Analyses Europa’s magnetic environment
• Power Source: Spacecraft has large solar arrays to collect enough light for its power needs as it operates in the Jupiter system.

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About Europa

• Europa is a moon of Jupiter that’s considered one of the most promising places in our solar system to search for life beyond Earth.
• Size: Slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and its diameter is about one-quarter that of the Earth.
• Potential for Primitive Life: Scientists believe Europa could potentially harbour microbial life near thermal vents at the ocean floor, similar to life forms found in Earth’s deep oceans.