Author: James Lloyd, Research Fellow, ARC CoE Plants for Space, School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia

On October 10, NASA is launching a hotly anticipated new mission to Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, Europa. Called Europa Clipper, the spacecraft will conduct a detailed study of the moon, looking for potential places where Europa might host alien life. It’s the largest planetary exploration spacecraft NASA has ever made: as wide as a basketball court when its solar sails are unfolded. It has a mass of about 6,000 kilograms – the weight of a large African elephant. But why are we sending a hulking spacecraft all the way to Europa? Looking for life away from Earth The search for life…