NASA’s Europa Clipper probe took off this Monday, October 14 from the United States towards a moon of Jupiter, in order to reveal whether it meets the conditions that would allow it to harbor life in its ocean. A discovery whose implications would be dizzying.
Liftoff took place aboard SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) subsequently confirmed having received a first signal from the probe, which “ works as expected ».
Its journey will be long: Europa Clipper will reach Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons, in April 2030. This is a world that the American space agency has never before observed in such detail: under its icy surface lies an ocean of liquid water, scientists believe. “ Europe is one of the most promising places to search for life beyond Earth », Underlined during a press conference Gina DiBraccio, responsible at NASA.
The mission will not directly look for signs of life but will answer the question of habitability: Europa, which is roughly the size of our Moon but could contain twice as much water as Earth, contains the ingredients that would allow life to be present there? If this is the case, then another mission will have to go there to try to detect it.
Read more on RFI
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