A NASA spacecraft is set to set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa, making a bet that if it wins, it will find traces of life on other planets beyond Earth, according to The Associated Press.

The Europa Clipper will probe the bottom of the moon’s icy crust, where an ocean is believed to exist quite close to the surface. It will not look for life, but rather determine whether the conditions there could support it. Another mission is needed to explore the microorganisms hiding there.

“It’s an opportunity for us to explore not a world that might have been habitable billions of years ago, but a world that might be habitable today—right nowsaid program scientist Curt Niebur.

Its massive solar panels make the Clipper the largest spacecraft built by NASA to investigate another planet. They will be needed 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter and will approach in distance 25 kilometers from the surface of Europa – much closer than any other spacecraft.

Liftoff is aimed this month on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Shipping cost: 5.2 billion dollars.

Europa: The superstar among Jupiter’s many moons

One of the 95 known moons of Zeus, h Europe it is almost the size of our own moon. It is encased in an ice sheet estimated to be 15 kilometers to 24 kilometers thick. Scientists believe this icy crust hides an ocean that could extend 120 kilometers or more in depth.

The spaceship Hubble telescope spotted what appear to be geysers erupting from the surface. Discovered by Galileo in 1610Europe is one of the four so-called Galilean moons of Zeus, along with Ganymede, Io and Callisto.

Search for conditions that indicate the possibility of life

What kind of life can exist in Europe? In addition to water, organic compounds are needed for life as we know it, plus a source of energy. In the case of Europe, this could be thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean.

Associate project scientist Bonnie Buratti imagines that any life would be as primitive as the bacterial life that emerged from the deep vents of Earth’s oceans. “Dwe won’t know from this mission because we can’t see that deep“, he said. Unlike missions to Mars, where habitability is one of many questions, Clipper’s sole job is to determine whether the moon could support life in its ocean or possibly any pockets of water in the ice.