The mission lifted off October 14 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Roughly an hour later, the spacecraft separated from its launch vehicle, embarking on a cruise through the inner solar system. A pair of gravity assists will ultimately slingshot it to Jupiter. The spacecraft will travel some 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) over the next 5½ years and reach the Jupiter system in 2030.

Europa Clipper’s launch was originally scheduled for October 10, but that was delayed by Hurricane Milton. The craft rode out the hurricane’s destructive trek across Florida the night of October 9-10 safely ensconced in a hangar. After a damage assessment and recovery team surveyed the damage, Kennedy Space Center was declared safe and open, with only minor damage.

Enigmatic Europa

One of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, Europa has long fascinated scientists.

Some 90 percent the size of our own moon, the satellite is believed to host a global ocean of liquid saltwater twice the volume Earth’s oceans but locked beneath a water-ice crust some 2 to 20 miles (3 to 30 kilometers) thick. Not only that, the moon is heated through tidal flexing as it orbits Jupiter on an elliptical path, and also contains the chemical building blocks of life as we know it. 

• READ MORE:  NASA Awaits ‘All-Clear’ for Mission to Search for Life on Jupiter’s Moon

All these factors combine to create a compelling world where Earth-like life might find a way. In fact, when people think of the potentially habitable places within our solar system, Europa likely tops the list. 

“Europa Clipper is not specifically a life-search mission. [Instead], we’re going to understand the potential habitability of Europa,” said Europa Clipper project scientist Robert Pappalardo in a NASA video.

The mission will use nine instruments to study the moon’s interior and exterior, as well as the environment in which it sits, to learn about the ice shell and the ocean it hides, as well as the composition of the moon and whether it is geologically active.

A Dedicated Mission

Once it launches, Europa Clipper will complete a triad of Jupiter missions currently in action, joining NASA’s Juno, which has been orbiting Jupiter since July 2016, and ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which launched in April 2023 and is also on its way to the gas giant. In fact, Europa Clipper, currently scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030, will beat JUICE to its destination by about a year thanks to differing trajectories.

But why send Europa Clipper at all, if Juno is already in orbit and JUICE is on its way? 

Juno is dedicated to studying Jupiter itself, although it’s certainly sent back some stunning imagery of the moons as well. Additionally, Juno’s mission is coming to a close, planned to end in September 2025. And after JUICE arrives in 2031, it will complete just two flybys of Europa in July 2032, before move on to concentrate the bulk of its mission on Ganymede and Callisto. Like Europa, these larger moons also presumably host liquid subsurface oceans, though farther beneath their own icy crusts. 

“For the first time ever, we’re sending a spacecraft completely dedicated to studying this moon,” said Tracy Drain, Europa Clipper’s lead flight system systems engineer. 

Following its launch, Europa Clipper’s journey will take it past Mars (2025) and Earth (2026) for gravity assists before reaching the Jupiter system. Once there, it will use the Galilean moons to slow and shape its orbit, aiming to enter resonance with Europa’s orbit and make its first flyby of the eponymous moon in early 2031. Shortly after, in May that year, the craft will begin its science campaign, focusing first on the anti-Jupiter side of the moon (the side of Europa facing away from Jupiter). 

• READ MORE: NASA Reveals Messages to Be Carried to Jupiter on Europa Clipper Orbiter

A second science campaign, which will send the craft past the Jupiter-facing side of the moon, will begin in May 2033. In all, Europa Clipper will make 49 Europa flybys, each passing over different terrain as it builds up a nearly complete global map of the surface. At its closest, it will skim just 16 miles (25 km) above the surface.

Throughout these campaigns, the spacecraft will plunge into one of the worst environments imaginable, bathed by the intense radiation that surrounds Jupiter. The massive planet supports an extensive magnetosphere—the region of space where its magnetic field dominates. Charged particles from both the Sun and Jupiter itself, as well as from the highly volcanic moon Io, are trapped by the planet’s powerful magnetic field and generate huge, intense radiation belts—belts that encompass Io, Europa, and Ganymede, with the two innermost moons orbiting in the worst of it. 

While there is no avoiding this environment if one wants to study Europa—and indeed, scientists think this unique environment has actively shaped Europa into the world we see today—the mission is taking precautions. First, the spacecraft will orbit Jupiter rather than Europa, meaning it will fly through—but not continually sit within—the worst of the radiation. Nonetheless, according to NASA, during each flyby, Europa Clipper will experience a dose of radiation equivalent to 1 million chest X-rays.

That’s why Europa Clipper is also taking a design note from Juno: The craft’s computer and sensitive electronics are locked within a sealed central vault, whose aluminum-zinc walls are some one-third inch (9.2 millimeters) thick. These walls will keep out enough of the punishing, fast-moving particle radiation to ensure the electronics within experience only “acceptable” levels of radiation and can function throughout the mission duration, according to NASA. 

In May, however, engineers brought up concerns regarding the spacecraft’s transistors and their ability to withstand the high-radiation environment they were traveling to. It appeared that the parts might be less resistant to radiation than expected, and some would fail prematurely. However, additional testing ultimately bore out that the transistors would support the intended mission duration. 

Additional Specs

Europa Clipper is the largest NASA spacecraft ever built for a planetary mission. It weighs some 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms) and, with its two wide, winglike solar arrays extended, spans more than 100 feet (30.5 meters)—roughly the length of a basketball court.

The mission carries visible-light and infrared cameras, as well as ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers to measure composition. Its magnetometer and plasma instrument will measure the moon’s magnetic field (generated by its motion through Jupiter’s changing magnetic field). These observations will confirm the presence of a subsurface ocean, as well as measure its salinity, depth, and even the thickness of the ice shell above it. A radar instrument will also help map the surface, determine the thickness of the icy crust, and even pick up subsurface liquid to confirm the presence and depth of the ocean.

Gravity science experiments will allow astronomers to evaluate how Europa Clipper’s flight path changes as it is influenced by the moon’s gravitational environment, which changes as it orbits Jupiter. This will, in turn, reveal how much the moon’s shape changes due to tidal forces—a factor inherently tied to its internal structure. 

Finally, the craft’s mass spectrometer and surface dust analyzer will explore the environment around the moon. In particular, they will analyze material vented by geysers, as well as surface ice particles knocked into space by micrometeorites. By studying the chemistry of Europa’s surface ice and subsurface water directly, scientists will be able to determine whether its ocean could indeed be hospitable to life. 

Answers Ahead

“All these worlds are yours—except Europa. Attempt no landing there,” reads the radio message beamed to Earth at the end of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel 2010: Odyssey Two.

Although fueled by the presence of fictitious plantlike creatures beneath Europa’s surface, the sentiment behind the message rings true in real life. After a little less than a year and a half of science, Europa Clipper will end its mission in September 2034 with a “deorbit” into its fellow Galilean moon, Ganymede. 

But Ganymede, like Europa, also harbors a subsurface ocean. So, why is it being targeted for the crash?

According to the ESA, whose JUICE mission will also end by impacting Ganymede: “Icy moon Europa is the only object that is considered to have the potential for harboring life, and that therefore needs to be protected.…But as it stands, planetary protection rules allow a crash onto Ganymede, because there are no indications that the deep subsurface ocean on Ganymede can be in contact with the icy surface. Crashing into Europa would not be allowed because Europa’s subsurface oceans are suspected to be less deep and therefore contamination from the surface to the ocean would in theory be possible.”

Despite the mission’s brevity, Europa Clipper has the potential to unlock one of the most mysterious and enticing worlds in our solar system. And it will certainly bring us one step—or perhaps several steps—closer to answering the question of whether Earth is the only solar system world hospitable to life.

“This mission has been a long time coming, and we’re so excited about what we’re going to see when we get there,” said Pappalardo.

This story was updated October 15 to include information about Europa Clipper’s launch and the status of recovery efforts at Kennedy Space Center.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Astronomy.

The post NASA’s Europa Clipper Sets Sail for Jupiter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The spacecraft had been scheduled to launch Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The highly anticipated mission is seeking to find out whether Europa and its subsurface ocean could support life.

But on Sunday, NASA and SpaceX announced they would be standing down the launch attempt “due to anticipated hurricane conditions in the area.”

Workers have secured the Europa Clipper craft in SpaceX’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A at KSC, NASA said, and the center began preparing for Hurricane Milton that day.

“The safety of launch team personnel is our highest priority, and all precautions will be taken to protect the Europa Clipper spacecraft,” said Tim Dunn, senior launch director at NASA’s Launch Services Program, in a statement.

The announcement came as Milton was rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm into one of the strongest hurricanes on record. On Monday evening, the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center reported Milton was a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 165 mph (270 km/h), threatening the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

NASA’s Crew-8 mission has also been impacted by Hurricane Milton. The SpaceX Dragon capsule was scheduled to splash down Tuesday off the Florida coast carrying three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut, all of whom have completed a crew rotation at the International Space Station that began in March. The Crew-8 undocking has now been postponed to no earlier than Sunday.

KSC Will Face Weakened Milton

Milton’s winds are forecast to ease slightly before making landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a still-deadly Category 3 hurricane late Wednesday or early Thursday. Storm surge warnings are in effect for much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, with water rising potentially by as much as 15 feet (4.6 meters) in the Tampa Bay area.

However, by the time Milton crosses the peninsula and reaches the Space Coast, the storm is expected to have weakened significantly to a Category 1 hurricane, the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron reported on Monday. A Category 1 hurricane has sustained winds between 74 and 95 mph (119 and 153 km/h).

Although KSC lies in roughly the center of the cone of possible paths, it is not under a mandatory evacuation order. Still, “we do expect downed trees, power outages, possible cell service outages, and localized flooding,” said the 45th Weather Squadron, which is responsible for KSC’s launch forecasts.

All of KSC’s original major facilities—including the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the launch pads—were designed to withstand winds of at least 104 mph (167 km/h). And every facility at KSC built after 1992’s Hurricane Andrew was built to a higher standard of 130 to 135 mph (209 to 217 km/h).

But that doesn’t mean the center is immune to wind damage. In 2004, Hurricane Frances ripped over 800 exterior panels off the south side of the Vehicle Assembly Building, leaving gaping holes requiring years of repairs—even though ground-level winds at KSC never reached hurricane strength.

How NASA Battens Down the Hatches

NASA has a well-defined hurricane preparation plan at KSC that it is currently carrying out.

On Monday night, KSC was at HURCON 3, or Hurricane Condition III, a status activated when surface winds of over 58 mph (93 km/h) could arrive within 48 hours. At HURCON 3, KSC’s protocol calls for securing facilities, property, and equipment.

HURCON 3 is also when NASA briefs and deploys the ride-out team (ROT)—a core team of around 100 to 120 essential personnel that will ride out the storm at KSC while all other workers are offsite. As the storm nears, KSC will go to HURCON 2 and eventually HURCON 1, with the ROT hunkered down and the facility closed.

During the storm, the ROT’s job is to keep essential infrastructure running. After the storm passes, the ROT will perform an initial damage assessment from a vehicle and do what it can before handing off to another team for a fuller assessment and to start recovery efforts.

When the facility is deemed safe, the rest of the center’s staff can return to work, including launch teams, who will assess launch pads and processing facilities for storm damage. Only then will NASA be able to set a new timeline for Europa Clipper’s launch.

“Once we have the ‘all-clear’ followed by facility assessment and any recovery actions, we will determine the next launch opportunity for this NASA flagship mission,” said Dunn.

The mission has daily launch opportunities during a window that runs through November 6.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Astronomy.

The post NASA Postpones Europa Clipper Launch as Hurricane Milton Takes Aim at Cape Canaveral appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The agency on Sunday stood down from Thursday’s scheduled Europa Clipper launch due to the approaching Hurricane Milton. But crews on Friday completed one of the final steps in the prelaunch checklist, moving the spacecraft to the hangar at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch window remains open until November 6.

“Once we have the ‘all-clear’ followed by facility assessment and any recovery actions, we will determine the next launch opportunity for this NASA flagship mission,” said Tim Dunn, senior launch director for NASA’s Launch Services Program.

Europa Clipper will fly nearly 1.8 billion miles to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, to study whether the rocky satellite could support life. The mission will produce the first detailed investigations of the moon and is expected to enter Jovian orbit in 2030.

Scientists believe Europa may hold an ocean beneath its icy surface that contains twice as much liquid water as all oceans on Earth, despite it being about the same size as our moon. NASA will perform nearly 50 close-proximity flybys to explore its composition and geography, coming as close as within 16 miles of the surface. The goal is to produce a scan of the entire moon.

NASA selected Europa Clipper in 2017 and began building the eponymous spacecraft in 2019. With its massive solar arrays unfurled, the vehicle is about 100 feet long, about the size of a basketball court. The spacecraft’s large solar panels will power it as it cruises through a portion of space more than five times as far from the Sun as Earth.

The robotic craft will weigh nearly 13,000 pounds at launch, about half of which comes from the weight of propellant. Adding to that is an array of nine dedicated science instruments, which are shielded by a vault made of titanium and aluminum to protect against radiation. Spectrometers will produce high-resolution maps of Europa’s surface and atmosphere, and ice-penetrating radar will scan for water below the surface. Other tools will be used to locate warmer pockets of ice, for example.

Europa Clipper will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy. En route to Europa, it will perform a pair of “gravity assists,” using the pull of both Earth and Mars to propel itself further.

The spacecraft is expected to enter Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030 and perform its first flyby of Europa the following spring. Science instruments will begin collecting data in May 2031. The mission is scheduled to conclude in September 2034 when Europa Clipper smashes into Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede.

NASA will provide live prelaunch and launch coverage on its website and social media channels. Members of the public can also register to attend the launch virtually.

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NASA said there is strong evidence of a vast ocean beneath the moon’s icy crust that contains more than twice the amount of water in all of Earth’s oceans. Water is a central theme of the spacecraft’s message, which includes an engraving of the U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.” The craft also carries a silicon microchip with more than 2.6 million names as part of NASA’s “Message in a Bottle” campaign that asked people to submit their names to be carried on the voyage.

• READ MORE: When it Comes to Space Travel, NASA has the Juice—But ESA has JUICE

The engraved panel is made of the metal tantalum, measures about 7-by-11 inches, and has graphic elements on both sides. This artwork includes waveforms converted from audio files that linguists collected of the word “water” spoken in 103 languages. The waveforms are etched into the panel and radiate out from a symbol representing the American Sign Language sign for water, NASA said.

“The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “The plate combines the best humanity has to offer across the universe—science, technology, education, art, and math. The message of connection through water, essential for all forms of life as we know it, perfectly illustrates Earth’s tie to this mysterious ocean world we are setting out to explore.”

The Europa Clipper is expected to begin orbiting Jupiter in 2030 after a trip of 1.6 billion miles. It will make repeated close passes of Europa, gathering data about the subsurface ocean, crust, atmosphere, and space environment. The electronics for those instruments are housed in a massive metal vault designed to protect them from Jupiter’s punishing radiation. The commemorative plate will seal an opening in the vault.

The panel’s inner surface will be inscribed with the Drake Equation, developed by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961 to estimate the possibility of finding advanced civilizations beyond Earth. Additional artwork on the inward-facing side of the panel will include a reference to radio frequencies considered plausible for interstellar communication, NASA said.

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