NASA launches Jupiter's moon Europa probe on the 11th...an investigation into the possibility of life

NASA's "Europa Clipper," an unmanned probe by the U.S. space agency, will launch next week to investigate whether life can live on Jupiter's moon Europa.

According to NASA on the 4th local time, the Europa Clipper will be launched on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:31 p.m. on the 10th and 1:30 a.m. Korean time on the 11th.The mission of the spacecraft

is to conduct a precise exploration to determine whether Europa has the conditions suitable for living things.

It will travel about 2.9 billion kilometers in the five and a half years since leaving Earth, enter Jupiter's orbit in April 2030, and then fly close around Europa to thoroughly examine Europa's environment.

The unmanned probe Europa Clipper aims to scan almost the entire satellite by continuing to fly to different locations at an altitude of 25 km above the surface, which is the closest distance to Europa.The spacecraft is equipped with nine instruments, including cameras and spectrometers to take high-resolution images of Europa's surface and thin atmosphere and to map, magnetometers and gravitational gauges to find clues about the ocean and deep beneath, and thermometers to determine ice temperatures and the location of recent eruptions of water.

The Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft ever developed by NASA for a planetary exploration mission.

Scientists estimate that there is a salinity sea underneath a layer of ice 15-25 kilometers above the surface of Europa, possibly with an environment that can inhabit life.