[JACK AYLMER]
NASA is just weeks away from its first mission to explore Jupiter's giant moon “Europa.”
[DIPAK SRINIVASAN]
I was responsible for leading a team of people to build all the communications systems…
[JACK AYLMER]
Ahead of the historic launch, the agency is releasing a video showing behind-the-scenes footage of the Clipper mission.
[DIPAK SRINIVASAN]
At launch, I will have been working on Europa Clipper for a dozen years. You know, everything from its earliest stages, to the actual design of this spacecraft, the actual hardware, to take it on the journey to Europa. It's going to be an amazing feeling. I'm Deepak Srinivasan, and I work to make sure that we communicate with the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
[JACK AYLMER]
NASA is highlighting the efforts of five engineers working on a spacecraft that will search for a “global saltwater ocean beneath the icy mantle” on Jupiter's moon.
[DIPAK SRINIVASAN]
Ever since Galileo saw a glow near Jupiter… we think Europa has about twice as much water as Earth… and here on Earth, wherever there's water, we've found life.
[JACK AYLMER]
This mission can be launched by October 10.
The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and collect data using nine technology instruments and use telecommunications to collect gravitational data on Jupiter's radiation environment.
The Europa probe, about the length of a basketball court, is the largest spacecraft ever developed for a planetary mission.
[DIPAK SRINIVASAN]
This is the most exciting time to work in space as we explore the frontiers of life.
[JACK AYLMER]
If NASA determines that Europa is a habitable planet, a second Europa mission will return there, this time to further study signs of life.
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For Straight Arrow News – I'm Jack Aylmer.