NASA’s Europa Clipper mission has officially begun its ambitious journey to explore one of the most promising locations in our solar system for finding signs of life—Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the spacecraft is now on its way to investigate the icy moon that scientists believe harbors a vast ocean beneath its frozen surface. The Mission’s Significance Europa Clipper’s primary goal is to study Europa’s potential to support life. Europa, slightly smaller than Earth's moon, is covered in a thick ice shell with an ocean believed to contain more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists are particularly excited about Europa because its subsurface ocean could be in contact with a rocky seafloor, a condition that may allow for chemical reactions that are necessary for life. Understanding whether this environment could harbor life makes Europa one of the most exciting places to explore in our solar...