NASA’s European Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 and head to Jupiter’s moon Europa, where it will search for signs that the icy moon may be suitable for life.

The spacecraft will not be orbiting Europa when it arrives in 2030, but will instead orbit Jupiter in a way that will allow it to repeatedly pass the moon at a distance of nearly 25 kilometers from the planet’s surface.

“We’re going to get a really comprehensive assessment of what Europa is like,” he says. jennifer scully at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

Of the moon’s many mysteries, perhaps the most important are the structure of its internal oceans and whether it is habitable. The Clipper won’t be able to search for life itself, but it will set the stage for possible future missions.