NASA has launched the Europa Clipper mission on a five-and-a-half-year journey to Jupiter’s moon to find possible traces of life.
NASA said that Europa, one of Jupiter’s 95 moons, is the best place to start exploring life outside the near Solar System.
Scientists consider the Europa moon to have a huge water reservoir beneath its icy surface which will also answer critical questions about its history and previous life.
Mission Will Look For Signs of Life
NASA mentioned that the mission will not search directly for signs of life but will identify if it possesses the conditions necessary for life are present on Europa.
If these ingredients are present, it would set the stage for a future mission to potentially detect life, the US agency said.
The probe will journey 2.9 billion kilometers to reach Jupiter by April 2030, with the main mission expected to last another four years.
