NASA launches largest interplanetary spacecraft to study Jupiter’s icy moon in search of life

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission launched this Monday to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, one of the places most likely to harbor life beyond Earth. Equipped with cutting-edge scientific instruments, NASA’s largest interplanetary spacecraft will study the moon’s icy surface, which hides an underground ocean, for signs of life.

The mission will travel nearly 3 billion kilometers until it reaches Jupiter in 2030, where it will make 49 flybys of Europa. In the face of intense radiation on the planet, the mission will explore organic compounds and thermal activity that may support life forms.