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alvinofdiaspar t1_isu24fw wrote

Reply to comment by KaptainKoala in The Europa Clipper mission may be as exciting as a manned mars mission and it’s only two years away by Wide-Escape-5618

Launch is only 2 years away.

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KaptainKoala t1_isu6stn wrote

right but the actual science is 5 to 6 years after that

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alvinofdiaspar t1_isu7gpe wrote

No real way around it - getting to Jupiter takes time (especially for a heavy orbiter that can’t just zip by like the Pioneers, Voyagers or New Horizons - in which case it takes about a year). The SLS can do it in 2 and change, but it isn’t available (or even tested), a good fit with the spacecraft and would cost a neat billion more than FH.

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