The US space agency NASA sent the probe on Monday Europe Clipperwhich will study Europa, Jupiter's moon, which has an icy subsurface ocean with potentially favorable conditions to support life as we know it.
The space probe launched from NASA's base in Florida at 5:06 pm (Lisbon time), aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket belonging to SpaceX, owned by businessman Elon Musk.
The launch took place four days later than scheduled due to the hurricane MiltonWhich struck Florida on Wednesday night last week, killing 23 people, according to the latest report by the US authorities.
Mission Europe Clipper It is the first NASA dedicated to “the study of the ocean world beyond Earth.”
The probe will travel a distance of 2,900 million kilometers, and after it begins orbiting Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, in April 2030, it will pass near Europe 49 times.
Europa, the smallest of Jupiter's four moons discovered by Galileo Galilei in the 17th century, is about the size of the Moon, Earth's natural satellite, but its interior is different. Data collected in the 1990s by space probes Galileo NASA has revealed strong evidence that “underneath Europa's ice lies a massive salty ocean, containing more water than all of Earth's oceans combined.”
Moreover, according to scientists, this moon of Jupiter could host organic compounds and energy sources beneath its surface.
The probe Europe Clipper It is equipped with nine scientific instruments, including “ice-penetrating radar, cameras and a thermal device to search for warmer ice areas and any recent water eruptions.”
To keep these instruments powered in the weak sunlight reaching Jupiter, the probe carries the largest solar panels NASA has ever used on an interplanetary mission. The probe is 30.5 meters long with the panels open.
It is expected that in 2031 Europe Clipper Initiating scientific flybys of Europa to “determine the thickness of the Moon's ice sheet and its interactions with the ocean beneath it, investigate its composition and characterize its geology.”
The European Space Agency also sent its probe to the Jupiter system, juicein April 2023. juice It is scheduled to reach its destination in July 2031, with the aim of searching for life on Jupiter and its three large icy moons – Callisto, Europa and Ganymede.
“Coffee trailblazer. Social media ninja. Unapologetic web guru. Friendly music fan. Alcohol fanatic.”