Summary
The launch appears to still be on track for Oct. 10, as per the agency’s original schedule. The $5-billion Europa Clipper will not be searching for life itself, however. Rather, scientists will seek to determine whether Europa has the necessary conditions for life.
Europa Clipper could also help reveal whether there are organic compounds that can serve as food for any primitive organisms on the moon. It is the first mission to investigate the habitability of an ocean world.
Europa Clipper is equipped with giant solar panels to capture feeble sunlight reaching Jupiter's pocket of the solar system. When fully deployed, the probe is 5 meters tall and 30 meters wide.
The mission is designed to last at least four years. A series of burns will crash it into Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system.
