This NASA image shows the Europa Clipper over Europe with Jupiter in the background.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
A Falcon Heavyor another large SpaceX rocket could carry The planned Europa Clipper mission from NASA to the icy Jupiter moon Europa, which hides an underground ocean that many scientists believe could be able to do this support the life of aliens.
A draft law on funds for Congress released on Tuesday opens the door to Elon Musk’s rocket company, or even to a competitor like Jeff Bezos’ blue originto enable the journey that will send an orbiter to the Jovian system by 2025 and a lander to Europe by 2027.
“The National Aerospace Agency uses the space launch system, if available, as the 10 launchers for the Jupiter Europe missions,” the House Appropriations Committee draft law said.
These two little words – “if available” – are new. In the past, Congress tied money for the European Mission to the requirement that NASA use its space launch system. But SLS was far behind schedule and over budget for years. And SpaceX recently lapped NASA’s internal missile development program with the successful debut of the Falcon Heavy and the ongoing advancement of its larger spacecraft.
SLS is proving to be far more expensive than what SpaceX could offer, and it’s not even clear if it will be operational by 2025.
The bill also provides for over $ 400 million for NASA’s construction of the European orbiter.
Look at that:
Everything we know about NASA’s Space Launch System
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Of course, this is just the beginning of the budget process. Congress will continue to negotiate the actual amounts and terms, how much NASA will actually receive, and what for. Still, this tiny change in an early document is an important confirmation that sticking to SLS may not be practical if the missile is not ready for launch in 2024.
The same bill also provides funding for NASA’s Artemis mission to bring astronauts back to the moon, even though it offers less than half of what the White House asked for.
The Trump administration has set itself the goal of sending the first astronaut to the surface of the moon by 2024. This goal, which many in the space industry are skeptical of, can be achieved in particular without the full support of the Congress and its paperback.