FLORIDA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched its Europa Clipper spacecraft, beginning a mission to investigate Jupiter’s moon, Europa, which is believed to have a vast, ice-covered ocean that could potentially support life.
The spacecraft lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre at 12.06 pm local time on Monday, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Originally scheduled for Oct 10, the launch was postponed due to Hurricane Milton, but after thorough evaluations of the facilities, the spacecraft was cleared to return to the launchpad, WAM quoted a CNN report.
NASA confirmed successful communication with Europa Clipper approximately an hour and 10 minutes after launch, marking the beginning of its journey.
Europa Clipper, equipped with large solar arrays deployed three hours after launch, is NASA’s first dedicated mission to study an ice-covered ocean world.
The mission aims to investigate whether Europa’s hidden ocean could potentially harbour life, offering a new frontier in the search for habitable environments beyond Earth.— BERNAMA WAM
