NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission to Jupiter: Live Updates

2024-10-14T03:32:07.823Z

Europa Clipper “GO” at the start

NASA and SpaceX are both poised to launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft toward Jupiter’s moon Europa on Monday, October 14, 2024, after days of delays caused by the impact of Hurricane Milton at its launch site in Florida.

Europa Clipper, a $5 billion flagship mission to an icy moon of Jupiter, is currently scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 GMT) during a tiny 15-second launch window. The chance of good weather at launch time is 95%, Space Force officials said. Read our full guide on when and how to watch the Europa Clipper launch.

NASA had originally hoped to launch Europa Clipper on October 10, but along with SpaceX – which will launch the probe on a Falcon Heavy rocket – decided last week to postpone the launch as Hurricane Milton approached. The space center reopened for operations on Saturday (October 12) and the Falcon Heavy carrying the probe returned to the launch pad on Sunday.

Europa Clipper is scheduled to reach the Jupiter system in April 2030 and spend four years flying close to Europa, one of the most promising places in our solar system for the search for life beyond Earth. Europe’s dominant feature is its vast salt ocean, which lies beneath a thick crust of ice that sometimes escapes through huge plumes of water.

NASA scientists will use Europa Clipper’s instruments to better understand how habitable Europa might be.

Here we present the latest Europa Clipper launch and mission updates during its long journey to Jupiter. Check back on October 14th for live coverage of the launch!