NASA clears Europa Clipper mission for Oct. 10 launch despite Jupiter radiation worries

technicians in white lab coats crowd around a large metal cylinder suspended above them
Technicians attach the five-panel solar arrays to NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

NASA's Europa Clipper mission is on track for an October launch following tests confirming the spacecraft can handle the harsh radiation environment around one of Jupiter's most intriguing moons. 

The Europa Clipper spacecraft aims to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean with twice as much as water as in all of Earth's seas combined. Equipped with nine instruments, including cameras, ground-penetrating radar, and spectrometers, the spacecraft will conduct multiple close flybys of the moon and investigate the environment beneath Europa's icy crust and search for signs of life as we know it.

The spacecraft is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a target launch window opening on Oct. 10, the space agency announced on Tuesday (Sept. 3).

"Clipper's primary science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Europa that could support life," NASA officials said in the announcement. 

"The mission's three main science objectives are to understand the nature of the ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the moon's composition and geology. The mission's detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet." 

Previous concerns had been raised about the spacecraft's ability to survive the high-radiation environment created by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field when its transistors — devices that control the flow of electricity on the probe — suffered failures at lower radiation doses than expected. 

However, more recent tests have confirmed that the transistors "can support the baseline mission," NASA officials said in a statement. With an expected arrival at Jupiter in 2030, the baseline mission includes flying by Europa nearly 50 times between 2031 and 2034. 

The next major milestone for the mission is a review called Key Decision Point E, which will take place on Sept. 9. At that time, NASA will determine if the Europa Clipper spacecraft can proceed into final launch preparations. 

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Samantha Mathewson
Contributing Writer

Samantha Mathewson joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2016. She received a B.A. in Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of New Haven, in Connecticut. Previously, her work has been published in Nature World News. When not writing or reading about science, Samantha enjoys traveling to new places and taking photos! You can follow her on Twitter @Sam_Ashley13. 

  • neverforget010621
    Admin said:
    NASA's Europa Clipper mission is on track for an October launch following tests confirming the spacecraft can handle the harsh conditions around Jupiter's intriguing moon.

    NASA clears Europa Clipper mission for Oct. 10 launch despite Jupiter radiation worries : Read more
    This is utterly fantastic news!!!! I cannot wait; watching video footage of a NASA submersible probe melting thru the ice cap using uranium as a heat source to melt the ice, and then exploring the 100km deep abyssal depths(the pressure of which is strikingly similar to the Mariana trench on Earth because of Europa's difference in density and atmospheric pressure, is the capstone of my bucket list... let's GOOOOO!!!!
    #NASAISGREAT
    Reply