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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNASA is giving SpaceX $178 million to launch its mission to Europa, which could harbor alien life.
NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch its next alien-hunting mission to a Jupiter moon.
The mission, called Europa Clipper, is designed to fly past Jupiter's moon Europa 45 times, getting as close as 16 miles above its surface. Scientists believe the moon conceals a global ocean beneath its icy crust, and alien life could thrive deep within it.
NASA announced Friday that it set a date for the mission and awarded the $178 million launch contract to SpaceX. Now Europa Clipper is scheduled to blast off aboard the company's Falcon Heavy rocket in October 2024.
Europa Clipper's main objective is to determine whether Europa could host life at all. It aims to take high-resolution images of the moon's surface, chart the composition and thickness of its icy crust, look for lakes below the surface, and measure the depth and saltiness of the ocean below.
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NASA is giving SpaceX $178 million to launch its mission to Europa, which could harbor alien life. (Original Post)
Dial H For Hero
Jul 2021
OP
EYESORE 9001
(25,927 posts)1. We have been warned
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS, EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. USE THEM TOGETHER. USE THEM IN PEACE.
Volaris
(10,270 posts)2. Bahahahhaahaha. On a different note, I thought NASA was still doing
It's own unmanned launches...why we contracting this out?
Celerity
(43,314 posts)3. they contract out a lot
Volaris
(10,270 posts)4. Since when is the Cape, part of the worthless ass Space Force?!?
Ok, I have to stop or I'm gonna make myself mad.
Fuckin Trump ...