What if there was a secret ocean in space, and we could send a robot to explore it?

The Day a Robot Went Swimming on Another Moon!

NASA's Europa Clipper mission gets the green light for an icy adventure

NASA approved a spacecraft to explore Jupiter's moon Europa and its hidden ocean!

On June 9, 2022, something SUPER exciting happened in the world of space exploration! NASA officially confirmed that their Europa Clipper spacecraft had passed a major test and was ready to be built for its incredible mission.

But wait — what's Europa? It's one of Jupiter's coolest moons, and scientists think there might be a giant ocean hiding UNDER its icy shell! Imagine an ocean bigger than all of Earth's oceans combined, just floating in space around Jupiter. How wild is that?

The Europa Clipper is like a super-smart detective robot. Its job is to fly past Europa about 50 times, swooping close to take pictures and study what's underneath all that ice. Scientists want to know: Could there be life swimming around in that hidden ocean? Maybe not aliens with big eyes, but tiny creatures like the ones we find in Earth's deepest, darkest waters!

This spacecraft is HUGE — about the size of a basketball court when its solar panels are spread out! It carries nine special science instruments that can do everything from taking super-detailed photos to "tasting" tiny particles floating off Europa's surface.

💡 Europa's underground ocean might contain twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans put together — and it's been hiding there for billions of years!