SpaceX to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s moon

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA’s long-awaited mission to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon that may have the conditions to support life. The agency has been planning to send a probe to the Jovian moon for years and finalized its plans in 2019. In its announcement, NASA said the Europa Clipper spacecraft is expected to launch in October 2024 on top of a rocket. Kennedy Space Center Falcon Heavy. Launch complex 39A. He also revealed that the contract will cost the agency around $ 178 million, a godsend over what it would have cost to launch the mission over NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.

Like Ars Technica notes, Congress initially urged NASA to use the SLS to launch the Europa Clipper. At the time, however, the White House estimated that a single launch of SLS would cost $ 2 billion. Far from ideal, especially since the SLS would need the assistance of the gravity of Venus and travel further to be able to reach its objective, unlike the Falcon Heavy. Additionally, NASA told Ars that the SLS would need $ 1 billion in additional modifications to be able to complete the mission.

If Europa Clipper is launched in October 2024 as planned, it will reach Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030. The probe will then determine if the icy moon really has suitable conditions for life. It will capture “high resolution images of the surface of Europe, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon’s icy shell, search for underground lakes and determine depth. and the salinity of the European ocean. “