NASA has successfully launched its alien hunting mission to Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, where life is believed to live.
The Clipper spacecraft took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 PM ET, stowed away on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The $5.2 billion research is scheduled to travel 2.8 billion miles to Europe, reaching its goal by April 230.
Europa is a prime candidate for alien life because beneath its icy surface lies an ocean of liquid water.
NASA official Gina DiBraccio said: “Europe is one of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth.”
This is a developing story. More updates will follow
The Clipper spacecraft took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 PM ET, ensconced in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
NASA launched the Clipper probe on Monday. The spacecraft flies to Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, where extraterrestrial life is believed to live
Although the mission does not specifically look for life, Clipper is designed to help NASA discover whether Europa has the makings of life.
Scientists have previously determined that for life to exist, a planet needs 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 exploration missions like this always reveal something “we couldn’t have imagined.”
“There will be something there – the unknown – that will be so amazing that we can’t imagine it right now,” she said.
“That’s what excites me most.”