NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission has entered its final assembly phase at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft, set to launch in October 2024, will explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, believed to have a subsurface ocean that could harbor life.
This $5 billion mission aims to make nearly 50 flybys of Europa, collecting high-resolution images and analyzing surface composition. Scientists hope to better understand whether the moon’s icy crust hides conditions suitable for microbial life.
The mission has drawn significant global attention, including among Indian astronomers and students in Nepal and Bangladesh, as it symbolizes humanity’s growing effort to explore extraterrestrial habitability.