NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft has begun its journey to Jupiter's moon after its launch at 9:36 pm IST on Monday. It lifted off atop SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center to explore the watery world Europa.
At 10:41 pm, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of the probe in space which marked the beginning of its 2.9 billion km journey into the unknown.
Europa Clipper is NASA's biggest spacecraft ever made for a planetary mission. It measures 30 metres or 100 feet when its massive solar panels are deployed for power generation.
The mission objectives are to study Europa's geology, composition and most importantly - determine if its salty oceans believed to be hidden beneath the icy surface has conditions suitable for life.
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NASA says that the spacecraft is a 'message in a bottle' that is carrying the names and hopes of millions from one water world to another. Highlighting the significance of the element, it has sent special messages to Europa which includes a poem and a metallic plate with engravings of the word 'water.'
The engravings are actually a visual representation of sound waves of 'water' in 103 languages including one in Hindi. You can hear them all here in the waveform generator.
The poem - 'In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa' is written by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to honour the connection between Earth and Europa. The spacecraft is also carrying a microchip with 2.6 million names of Earthlings which NASA collected during the months leading up to the launch.
"Today, we embark on a new journey across the solar system in search of the ingredients for life within Jupiter's icy moon. Our next chapter in space exploration has begun," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
Europa Clipper will arrive at its destination in 2030 and conduct science investigations for four years.
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(Image: SpaceX)