There are two icy moon missions of this decade that will reach their respective bodies of interest beginning of next decade- JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) and Europa Clipper. The main focus of JUICE is Ganymede and for Clipper is Europa. Both these planetary bodies are moons of our Solar System's largest planet Jupiter. Scientists are particularly interested in the Jovian moons because these bodies contain large oceans under their surface making them a suitable place to study for potential habitability. They are called 'icy moons' because their surface is made up of ice! If you are interested to learn more about these moons, head to our previous blogs about them!
While JUICE launched on April 14th 2023, Clipper is all set to launch this month! If you are a space enthusiast and are interested in watching the launch: in person- head to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, or online: head to NASA's website. The launch window starts within a week on October 10th and goes up till the end of the month. It will take Clipper five and a half years to reach Jupiter in 2030.
Image Credit: NASA
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