Watch the historic NASA Europa Clipper launch here

On By Yukito

NASA Europa Clipper will launch today. The launch can be watched live during a live broadcast on NASA’s website. The Europa Clipper mission is one of the most exciting of the year, as NASA plans to send the spacecraft all the way to the Jupiter system, where it will explore Europa and Jupiter’s other moons – and possibly even Jupiter itself – in greater depth.

The Jupiter system has long been a popular research point for astronomers, and Europa Clipper has been in development for years. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to launch last week, on October 10. However, the arrival of Hurricane Milton in Florida caused more delays.

Launch coverage began today at 11:00 a.m. EST, and liftoff is currently scheduled for 12:06 a.m. ET from the Space Center. Kennedy in Florida. During launch, the Europa Clipper mission will go into space aboard the SpaceX Falce Heavy rocket. If today’s launch doesn’t go as expected, the mission has several other launch options before Nov. 6, when the final launch window closes.

Clipper will take a total of nine different instruments to the Jupiter system. These instruments are used to study the ice-covered ocean world of Europa, which some believe may contain signs of life beneath the surface. The main goal of the mission is to discover whether Europe is actually habitable, as many believe.

In addition to these instruments, the Europa Clipper mission will also carry a special message from humanity. The message is a poem written by Ada Limón, and 2.6 million names are engraved on the metal piece that holds the message.

The mission initially started in 2013 as a concept. This concept has fully evolved into a complete mission that costs approximately $5.2 billion to execute. But let’s hope that when the Europa Clipper spacecraft reaches the Jupiter system, it will teach us more about Europa than ever before. After the Europa Clipper mission launches, the spacecraft will fly 2.8 million miles to Jupiter.

It is not expected to arrive until April 2023 and will work with the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft, which the European Space Agency (ESA) launched in April 2023.