NASA has successfully launched its alien-hunting mission to Jupiter’s fourth largest moon that is believed to host life.
The Clipper spacecraft took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:08pm ET, tucked inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The $5.2 billion probe is set for a 1.8 billion-mile journey to Europa, meeting the target in April 230.
Europa is a prime candidate for alien life due to having an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface.
NASA official Gina DiBraccio said: ‘Europa is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth.’
This is a developing story.. more updates to come
The Clipper spacecraft took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 ET, tucked inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
NASA launched its Clipper probe on Monday. The craft is soaring to Jupiter’s fourth largest moon that is believed to host alien life
While the mission is not looking specifically for life, Clipper was designed to help NASA learn if Europa has ingredients for life.
Scientists have previously determined that in order for a planet to have life it needs to have three main ingredients: temperatures that allow liquid water to exist; the presence of carbon-based molecules; and an energy input, such as sunlight.
And NASA believes Europa has them all.
Dr Buratti said exploratory missions such as this one always uncover something ‘that we could not have imagined.’
‘There is going to be something there – the unknown – that is going to be so wonderful that we can’t conceive of it right now,’ she said.
‘That’s the thing that excites me most.’
One of Jupiter’s 95 known moons, Europa is encased in an ice sheet estimated to be 10 to 15 miles or more thick.
Scientists believe this frozen crust hides a saltwater liquid ocean that could be 80 miles or more deep and hold about twice as much water as Earth’s oceans combined – and possibly harbor life.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy separated from the core stage about five minutes after launch, with the first stage following shortly after.
