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Europa Clipper Begins Journey to Jupiter’s Icy Moon

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A white rocket lifts off from the launch pad, spewing billowing clouds of white vapor horizontally along the ground. A relatively short column of flames erupts from below the rocket just after liftoff. The early afternoon sky and the water in the foreground are similar, vibrant shades of blue.
SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.

Europa Clipper is the first mission designed to conduct a detailed study of Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine if it currently has habitable conditions. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km) to reach Jupiter in April 2030. It will orbit Jupiter and conduct 49 close flybys of Europa.

Follow Europa Clipper’s journey in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System app.

Image credit: SpaceX

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