On Monday, SpaceX and NASA launched the high-profile Europa flagship mission to Jupiter. The 6-ton spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2030 and then fly by Jupiter's moon Europa nearly 50 times.
During the flyby, the spacecraft will use a powerful set of nine scientific instruments (cameras, spectrometers, radars, etc.) that will work simultaneously. What is the ultimate goal? Determine whether Europa has the conditions to support life.
You can relive the launch on NASA's social media channels:
Scientists predict that Europa's icy surface hides a salty ocean with more water than Earth's oceans combined.
The mission's detailed detection of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential of habitable worlds beyond our planet. Europa's three main science goals are
Determine the thickness of Europa's ice shell and understand how Europa's oceans interact with the surface
Investigate the composition of Europa's ocean to determine whether it has the ingredients to allow and sustain life
Study how Europa's surface features were formed and look for any signs of recent activity, such as sliding tectonic plates or plumes spewing water into space
Europa marks SpaceX's 400th launch. The company won't be celebrating the mission's success by recycling the reusable rocket booster, though. The reason is simple - Europa is the largest spacecraft developed by NASA for planetary missions, with solar arrays spanning more than 100 feet (30 meters), and it will fly 1.8 billion miles from Earth, which means the performance required to launch the spacecraft does not allow the booster to return with the fuel margin needed for landing.
The core booster is brand new, while the side boosters are on their sixth and final flight, the second SpaceX mission in which a rocket has been expended. So far, the first and only such mission is Viasat-3 in May 2023. Spectators had nothing to regret after SpaceX engineers pulled off an incredible Super Heavy booster alley-oop on Sunday.