On October 7, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the postponement of the Europa Clipper mission to safeguard against the effects of Hurricane Milton.
Europa Clipper spacecraft. (Illustrative image).
Initially, the Europa Clipper spacecraft was scheduled for launch on October 10 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. However, meteorologists predict that Hurricane Milton will move eastward from the Gulf of Mexico, impacting the Space Coast coastline. The Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island areas on Florida’s East Coast may experience strong winds and heavy rain.
In response to the severe weather situation, NASA and its partner, the space exploration company SpaceX, have secured the Europa Clipper spacecraft in SpaceX’s storage facility at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for protection. The center began preparations to respond to Hurricane Milton starting from October 6.
NASA will make a decision regarding the launch window for Europa Clipper by November 6.
The primary goal of the Europa Clipper mission is to determine whether there are conditions beneath the icy surface of Europa—a moon of Jupiter—that could support life. The spacecraft is set to conduct multiple close flybys of Europa, collecting detailed data to investigate this moon and explore whether it possesses suitable conditions for life.
