Europa is one of Jupiter’s moons and is considered a promising place to search for life beyond Earth. POT It was recently announced that the Europa Clipper probe has reached an important stage and that its launch remains on schedule in October. The mission aims to investigate Jupiter’s moon to find out if humans can live there.
The launch window is set to open on October 10, CNN reported. The mission passed an important decision checkpoint, allowing it to proceed. This was a relief for the team, after concerns were raised in May about potential problems with the spacecraft’s transistors.
Over a four-month period, the transistors were extensively evaluated at three key locations: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
The team completed testing on schedule, avoiding a delay of more than a year to the Europa exploration mission. Europa Clipper is equipped with ten scientific tools designed to investigate the possibility of life beneath Europa’s icy surface. It has now been given the green light for launch without altering its objectives or course.
“It’s the last kind of big review before we really get into that launch rush, and we’re very pleased to say that today they unequivocally passed that review,” CNN quoted Nicola Fox, NASA associate administrator, as saying. Science Mission Directorate, he says.
Jupiter: The largest planet
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and far surpasses the others. Its magnetic field, immensely more powerful than that of the Earth, captures charged particles and accelerates them.
These fast-moving particles emit strong radiation that constantly hits Europa and nearby moons. Spacecraft bound for Jupiter therefore require specially shielded electronics to withstand the radiation.
“It’s an opportunity to explore, not a world that might have been habitable billions of years ago, but a world that might be habitable today,” Europa Clipper program scientist Curt Niebur was quoted as saying by CNN.
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