NASA's Europa Clipper Begins Journey to Investigate Life on Jupiter's Moon

The spacecraft will spend years studying Europa's icy surface and subsurface ocean for signs of habitability.

Europa Clipper launched successfully on October 14, 2024, and will reach Jupiter's moon Europa in 2030 after a complex route involving gravity assists from Mars and Earth.
The mission aims to determine whether Europa's subsurface ocean, kept warm by tidal forces, could support life.
Europa Clipper is equipped with nine scientific instruments to map Europa's surface, analyze its ice and ocean, and study its exosphere.
NASA's mission complements ESA's JUICE, launched in 2023, which will focus on Ganymede and other Jovian moons starting in 2031.
Both missions will provide unprecedented data on the moons' potential habitability, including insights into their magnetic fields and subsurface ocean properties.