NASA has produced a large number of amazing missions exploring the solar system in the past several decades, and continues to produce a large number of amazing missions. The mission currently on the books I find the most interesting is the Europa Clipper mission. I've shared many times that water found elsewhere in our Solar System always brings up the question of life. Water doesn't assure the existence of life, but it greatly increases the chances. There are several moons in the Solar System in which there is much evidence supporting the existence of liquid water underneath the surface. One such object is Europa, one of Jupiter's Galilean moons.
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Image of Europa's surface, courtesy of APOD. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160519.html
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Now that is super cool!!! Europa's surface has many cracks and different colored features. This is due to Europa's ever changing surface. Europa has a solid ice surface, but underneath is likely an ocean of liquid water heated by tidal interactions with Jupiter. Where there's water, there's the possibility of life.
The Europa Clipper mission is still in the planning stages with a tentative launch date in the 2020's. This most likely means the end of the 2020's if not into the next decade. Complicated missions such as this have a tendency to experience many delays. This is not a lander to touch down on the surface of Europa. That would be super cool, but adds further complications. Right now the plan is for the Europa Clipper to orbit Jupiter and do many close flybys of Europa for a more detailed look at the surface.
Very cool! Keep your fingers crossed for a launch near the end of the next decade, followed by a trip of a few years to Jupiter, followed by awesome pictures and more information on Europa!!! For more information on this mission, visit NASA's Europa Clipper website that offers further details.
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