NASA's largest spacecraft, Europa Clipper, to find if Jupiter's icy moon could support life: Explained
Here are Top 5 key facts you need to know about the Jupiter-bound Europa Clipper spacecraft. Watch videos for details: 1. Mission goal: Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter and focus on the planet’s ice-encased moon Europa.
NASA said the Europa Clipper spacecraft is not a life-detection mission. "Its primary science goal is to determine whether there are places below the moon’s icy surface that could support life," NASA said. Europa is considered one of the "most promising potentially habitable environments" in the solar system.
The key questions about Jupiter's moon Europa that this mission aims to answer are: How thick and how active is its icy shell? How deep is its global ocean? Does it have the conditions needed to support life? 2. How big is the Europa Clipper spacecraft: NASA said it is the largest spacecraft it has ever built planetary mission. "With its massive solar arrays deployed, Europa Clipper spans more than 100 ft (about 30 m) – about the length of a basketball court – and is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission," it added.
The spacecraft will be about 16 feet (5 meters) in height. 3. Why study Europa: As per NASA, Jupiter’s moon shows strong evidence of an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust.
It is suspected to have all the “ingredients" needed for life as we know it. Visiting Europa could help answer big questions like, "How did the universe begin and evolve?". ALSO READ: Solar eclipses are lot more common on Jupiter than Earth, NASA says ‘double triple and multiple…’ | See pics 4. How will Europa Clipper study Jupiter's icy moon: NASA explained through a video that the Europa Clipper will perform 50 flybys of Europa to gather measurements of the internal ocean,
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