Exploring Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa....EuropaClipper

Wasnt Europa the moon we were NOT supposed to explore in 2010 Space Odyssey?

It will be interesting to see what they can discover

europa.nasa.gov...

NASA's Europa Clipper is on its way to investigate the potential for life beneath Europa's icy surface. With its mission to unlock mysteries of the ocean world, it’s a giant leap for space exploration


EuropaClipper
is a mission crafted with one overarching goal: determine if Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, has conditions suitable for life.

This has probably happened before but Ive never heard it announced


EarthSpace
Earth to get an asteroid mini-moon for 2 months

earthsky.org...

Earth to get an asteroid mini-moon for 2 months
Earth’s gravity will temporarily capture a newly discovered asteroid named 2024 PT5, creating a mini-moon. According to researchers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, the asteroid should loop around Earth from September 29 until November 25, 2024. However, the asteroid will never complete one revolution of Earth, so it’s considered a temporarily captured flyby as opposed to a temporarily captured orbiter. Either way, this asteroid mini-moon will hang around until it once again breaks loose from Earth’s grasp.

The ATLAS survey in South Africa discovered the asteroid on August 7, 2024.

The scientists published their study in the non-peer-reviewed Research Notes of the AAS in September 2024.

Mini-moon and asteroid PT5
The asteroid and soon-to-be mini-moon is approximately 33 feet (10 meters) in size. It’s likely part of a population of near-Earth asteroids called Arjunas. These objects have orbits around the sun that are similar to Earth’s. Asteroid 2024 PT5’s close approach to our planet at a relatively low velocity is what will allow Earth’s gravity to temporarily alter its path. According to the study, for 56.6 days the little asteroid will change from orbiting the sun to orbiting Earth. But then the sun pulls it back into a heliocentric orbit. The asteroid will then have another somewhat close flyby of Earth on January 9, 2025, before:

leaving the neighborhood of Earth shortly afterward, until its next return in 2055.

a reply to: putnam6

I think this already got posted mate.

link

a reply to: putnam6
argg wrong thread

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: putnam6

I think this already got posted mate.

link

Man Ive been doing that a lot lately ....