CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft raced off on a voyage of discovery on Monday Jupiter's alluring moon Europa and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean may hold the key to life.

It will take time Europe Clipper It takes 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it slips into orbit around the giant gas planet and sneaks close to Europa during dozens of radiation-soaked flybys.

Scientists are almost certain that a deep, global ocean exists beneath Europe's icy crust. And where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising places to look for it.

Europa Clipper will not seek life; There are no life detectors. Instead, the spacecraft will focus on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues as it looks for suitable conditions beneath the ice.

“Marine worlds like Europa are unique not only because they may be habitable, but they may still be habitable today,” NASA's Gina DiBraccio said on the eve of the launch.

SpaceX launched Clipper on its 1.8 million mile (3 billion kilometer) journey, launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The $5.2 billion mission was almost derailed by transistors.

NASA only learned this spring that the clipper transistors may be more vulnerable to Jupiter's intense radiation field than expected. Clipper will endure the equivalent of several million chest X-rays on each of its 49 flybys of Europe. The space agency examined everything for months before concluding in September that the mission could go ahead as planned.

Hurricane Milton added to the fear and delayed the launch for several days.

About the size of a basketball court, the Clipper will swing past Mars and then past Earth to Jupiter with its solar wings deployed for gravity support. The nearly 13,000-pound (5,700-kilogram) probe is expected to reach the solar system's largest planet in 2030.

Clipper will orbit Jupiter every 21 days. One of these days will bring it close to Europa, one of Jupiter's 95 known moons, and close in size to our own moon.

The spacecraft will hover up to 25 kilometers above Europe – much closer than the few previous visitors. The onboard radar will attempt to penetrate the moon's ice layer, which is believed to be 15 to 24 kilometers thick. The ocean below could be 80 miles (120 kilometers) or deeper.

The spacecraft houses nine instruments, with sensitive electronics stored in a vault with dense zinc and aluminum walls to protect against radiation. The exploration will last until 2034.

If conditions on Europa turn out to be favorable for life, scientists say it opens the possibility for life on other marine worlds in our solar system and beyond. With an underground ocean and geysers, Saturn's moon Enceladus is another top contender.

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