NASA chooses SpaceX to launch its alien-hunting mission to Jupiter moon

PanARMENIAN.Net - NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch its next alien-hunting mission to a Jupiter moon, Business Insider reports.

The mission, called Europa Clipper, is designed to fly past Jupiter's moon Europa 45 times, getting as close as 16 miles above its surface. Scientists believe the moon conceals a global ocean beneath its icy crust, and alien life could thrive deep within it.

NASA announced Friday that it set a date for the mission and awarded the $178 million launch contract to SpaceX. Now Europa Clipper is scheduled to blast off aboard the company's Falcon Heavy rocket in October 2024.

Europa Clipper's main objective is to determine whether Europa could host life at all. It aims to take high-resolution images of the moon's surface, chart the composition and thickness of its icy crust, look for lakes below the surface, and measure the depth and saltiness of the ocean below.

The spacecraft could even fly through plumes of water vapor that shoot through Europa's ice, since those are known to crest more than 100 miles above the surface. This water seems to come from the ocean below, and it could contain signs of life.

The reason Europa can keep water in a liquid state is that it follows an oval-shaped orbit around Jupiter. The giant planet's gravity stretches and relaxes the moon, and that friction warms Europa's deep underground salt water, keeping it liquid. The warmth from that process could also allow the moon to harbor deep-sea ecosystems.