SpaceX Awarded Contract to Launch NASA Mission to Jupiter Moon Europa

A NASA security helicopter flies past the Vehicle Assembly Building on launch day at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 26, 2020. GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images

HAWTHORNE, Calif.—NASA announced today it has awarded Hawthorne-based SpaceX a $178 million contract to launch the first mission aimed at conducting detailed investigations of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, including a search for potentially life-supporting water.

SpaceX is expected to employ its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the Europa Clipper mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with the launch anticipated in October 2024.