Introduction
When people usually think about aliens they think about humanoid big green-headed ones. However on the other hand NASA is looking for microbial aliens. The mission to look for life is called Europa Clipper. It is a satellite that is going to orbit Jupiter and make flybys to look at Europa, Jupiter’s moon.
Explanation
Europa is one of Jupiter’s moons, it has an icy shell and underneath that icy shell might be water. Europa’s clipper is going to make flybys instead of landing on Europa.
The reason instead of landing is because of Jupiter’s moon Io. It is incredibly volcanically active. You may be asking how another moon can affect Europa. When Io erupts it’s volcanic material orbits Jupiter and gets ionized and supercharged because of Jupiter’s magnetic field. These supercharged particles can be lethal towards any technology. For example NASA’s Cassini spacecraft almost crashed into Jupiter, because the surrounding particles were so deadly.
Instead of looking for direct evidence of life on Europa, clippers are going to look for volcanic activity.
If you have ever played the game Subnautica you will know what I’m talking about when it comes to life on Europa.
Europa Clipper stats
Going to arrive in April 2030
Launched in October, 2024
Its length is 100 feet(30.5 meters)
The power source is solar
It’s currently moving 22 miles per second
Any other questions would be greatly enjoyed.
Sources
“Europa Clipper – NASA Science.” NASA, NASA, 21 Jan. 2025, science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/.
