NASA Greenlights October Launch to Europa Moon

NASA has greenlit next month's launch to Jupiter's moon Europa after confirming the Europa Clipper spacecraft's resilience against harsh radiation. Previous concerns about the spacecraft's transistors prompted urgent tests, given the tight Oct. 10 liftoff deadline. The $5 billion mission aims to investigate whether Europa's suspected subsurface ocean could support life.

The spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. NASA has a three-week window for liftoff to utilize gravity assists from Mars and Earth; failure to launch within this timeframe would delay the mission by over a year. According to project manager Jordan Evans, the transistors will degrade during the 49 planned moon flybys but are expected to recover in the intervening weeks.

Extensive testing, conducted round the clock over four months, resulted in high confidence in the mission's success. The Europa Clipper, spanning over 100 feet with its solar panels, will take approximately six years to reach Jupiter. Once there, it will orbit the gas giant every three weeks, conducting close flybys of Europa to map the moon with various scientific instruments. "We are ready for Jupiter," Evans said. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)