Some 480 million miles away,Watch Sweet Alibis Online an ocean — harboring perhaps twice the water of Earth's seas — sloshes beneath the icy surface of Europa. NASA's going there.
This moon of Jupiter has long intrigued planetary scientists, as a number of missions have swooped by the world's cracked, icy crust. Now, for the first time, a spacecraft is dedicated to investigating the moon. It's slated to launch in October.
"Almost time to spread our wings!" NASA posted online this week. "At @NASAKennedy, our spacecraft has been outfitted with its solar array 'wings.' They're not only huge, but strong enough to withstand the harsh conditions around Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa."
What's more, the space agency has confirmed that a crucial part of Europa Clipper's infrastructure — the transistors that regulate the craft's electricity — just passed tests. Earlier this year, an agency evaluation raised concerns that intense levels of radiation around Jupiter could impair the mission.
"The Europa Clipper mission team recently conducted extensive testing and analysis of transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. Analysis of the results suggests the transistors can support the baseline mission," NASA wrote on Aug. 28. (The baseline mission means flying by Europa nearly 50 times between 2031 and 2034, which will provide almost complete reconnaissance of the Jovian moon.)
Europa's cracked, icy surface as captured by the Juno spacecraft in 2022. Credit: Image data: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS // Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0 This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The spacecraft is giant. It's "the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission," the agency explained. When its solar-array wings fold out in space, the over 110-foot (30.5-meter) craft will be longer than an NBA basketball court. The large panels are necessary because the distant Jovian region only receives three to four percent of the sunlight that Earth receives.
"At Jupiter, Europa Clipper’s arrays will together provide roughly 700 watts of electricity, about what a small microwave oven or a coffee maker needs to operate," NASA explained. "On the spacecraft, batteries will store the power to run all of the electronics, a full payload of science instruments, communications equipment, the computer, and an entire propulsion system that includes 24 engines."
A bevy of cameras, ground-penetrating radar, spectrometers, and beyond will scan the world below for water, eruptions of water, and the composition of Europa's ice. Beneath the ice, for example, there might be evidence that Europa hosts hydrothermal vents on its seafloor. On our planet, life teems around these deep-ocean vents.
"Beyond Earth, Europa is considered one of the most promising places where we might find currently habitable environments in our solar system," NASA said.
The huge spacecraft's launch opportunities open on Oct. 10, 2024, and after looping through the inner solar system, will arrive at Jupiter in 2030.
The observations will be unprecedented. But even more exploration could follow: A potential follow-up mission, called Europa Lander, will settle down on this extraterrestrial world and drill into the still-mysterious ice.
The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2016
'Jeopardy!' contestants completely fail football category, Trebek gets sassy
Elon Musk's flamethrower appears on eBay t for jacked
Telegram back in App Store after removal for 'inappropriate content'
Character AI reveals AvatarFX, a new AI video generator
New iPhones might dump Qualcomm entirely for Intel modems
MashReads Podcast: Catching up with Neal Shusterman
Amazing Amazon review details the horrors of giant inflatable beach balls
What's Thermal Throttling and How to Prevent It
Arvin Ahmadi talks grit, crosswords, and new novel 'Down and Across'
CPU Price Watch: 9900K Incoming, Ryzen Cuts
Nintendo refuses to answer questions about Mario's sex life
Budweiser, Stella Artois devote Super Bowl ads to clean water efforts
Uma Thurman shares her Weinstein story, and talks about Tarantino
Norrie vs. Diallo 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
#MeToo founder Tarana Burnke writing a memoir
How Mammoth Media is trying to reinvent entertainment for teens
Nintendo refuses to answer questions about Mario's sex life
Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
TiVo will let you skip the football and watch just the Super Bowl commercials
Google tells Australians to get mad about proposed media laws in pointed open letterTrump wants China to put a 'heavy move' on North Korea, whatever that meansJenna Marbles and Julien Solomita cancel their podcastISIS allegedly used Facebook in bid to scam people desperate for face masksAdele's side hustle is selling handmade pomISIS allegedly used Facebook in bid to scam people desperate for face masksMan pulls bizarre Princess Diana shrine prank on roommate, goes viralElon Musk promises Tesla updates like goat honks, pothole detectionBlackBerry 5G smartphone with physical keyboard is coming next yearSamsung Pay Card is here, starting with the UK15 best tweets of the week, including hilarious Cardi B editsHow to help the USPS — and why it mattersTim Cook's Fourth of July tweet is pretty pointedWe read Kamala Harris' books. They go deeper than her Wikipedia page.GOP senator compares health care to porcupine sex because nothing matters anymore'Lovecraft Country' spins wild, gory unpredictability into TV goldAmazon is liable for defective thirdHow to watch the Democratic National Convention onlinePhotos of the horrific Iowa storm that few noticedKylie and Kendall Jenner may get sued by The Doors over their T "We live in a society": Explaining the edgelord meme in Justice League This couple started dating thanks to a tweet and now they're engaged Uber riders might be able to hail self A math legend just died. He literally reinvented aspects of modern math. False report claims Colin Kaepernick would end his protest in NFL Everyone loves this colorful, new 'Jeopardy!' champion Google apps on iOS telling you they're outdated? Don't worry, it's a bug. How to spot signs of alien life 32 of the biggest dating app bio red flags, as told by users Woman Instagrams her catcallers to prove an important point Why 'The Silence of the Lambs' is still terrifying 30 years later He said he was asleep at time of wife's murder. His health app said otherwise. Jackie Chan's daughter comes out on Instagram 'Little Nightmares II' is messy, but also scary and charming: Review Amber Rose posted an important Instagram message about Cam Newton's sexist remarks Rep. Devin Nunes was temporarily suspended from Twitter after reCAPTCHA fail Heartbreaking 'New Yorker' cover honors victims of Las Vegas shooting Is Facebook building its own audio Watch Naomi Osaka's delightful butterfly moment, mid New tech company Nothing acquires Essential, gives everyone a chance to invest
2.4774s , 10132.65625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Sweet Alibis Online】,Miracle Information Network