In a few hours, a NASA spacecraft will launch from Florida to search for signs of alien life on a distant and mysterious planet.

Europa Clipper’s destination is Europa, a moon orbiting the distant planet Jupiter that could harbor a vast ocean with twice as much water as Earth beneath its icy surface.

The launch of the Europa Clipper – years in the making – was delayed at the last minute after Hurricane Milton hit Florida this week.

The launch will take place today, October 14, from Cape Canaveral at 12:06 local time.

The craft is expected to reach Europa in 2030, but the wait will be worth it – what it discovers could change what we know about life in our solar system. Its icy crust is up to 25 km thick and, below, there could be a huge ocean of salt water. There may also be chemicals that are the ingredients for simple life form.

The spacecraft will be launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the cost of the mission is estimated at $5.2 billion.

“If we discover life this far from the Sun, it would imply a separate origin of life on Earth,” says Mark Fox-Powell, a planetary microbiologist.

“This is extremely important, because if it happens twice in our solar system, it could mean that eventually life in space is very common,” he told the BBC.

Europe is located 628 million kilometers from Earth and it’s a bit bigger than our moon, but that’s where the similarity ends.

If it were in our sky, it would shine five times brighterbecause water ice would reflect much more sunlight.