SpaceX Accepts NASA Contract To Launch Europa Sightseeing Plane

SpaceX's rockets will deliver a number of NASA missions into space. (photo: twitter @nasa)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk's private rocket company, SpaceX, has received a contract worth US$178 million (Rp. 2.5 trillion) from NASA. The contract is to launch the first mission to explore Jupiter's icy moon, Europa, to find out if it is a valid moon for life.

"Space Exploration Technologies based in Hawthorne, California, is scheduled to launch the Europa mission from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida," NASA said in a statement published online Friday, July 23.

The mission will conduct a detailed survey of ice-covered Europa, which is slightly smaller than Earth.

NASA says one of the mission's goals is to take high-resolution imaging of Europa's surface, determine its composition, look for signs of geological activity, measure the thickness of its ice sheet and determine the depth and salinity of its surroundings.

The contract is seen as a form of NASA's trust in SpaceX, which carries a lot of cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station.

Previously, SpaceX also secured a $2.9 billion contract in April to build a spacecraft that could land on the Moon.

The spacecraft was planned to carry NASA astronauts for the first time since 1972. In fact, the contract was suspended after Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and defense contractor Daintex protested the decision.

The Falcon Heavy 23, the craft, is currently the most powerful space vehicle in the world. The aircraft was capable of transporting its first commercial payload into space in 2019.