In less than 3 hours (12:06 EDT, Oct 14, 2024), the Europa Clipper will kick off its 6-year journey to Jupiter’s moon, Europa! 🚀 This mission is a huge deal because Europa’s hidden ocean might hold the ingredients for life, making it one of the best places to search for answers to the big “Are we alone?” question. Europa is where I spent most of my time at NASA JPL, and it’s hands down one of the most meaningful projects I've ever worked on. We pushed the boundaries with Model-Based Systems Engineering, helping us manage all the crazy complex subsystems involved in getting this spacecraft ready for its mission. And, for the first time, we had a dedicated cybersecurity team to protect the mission over its long haul to Europa—pretty groundbreaking stuff. This mission wouldn’t be happening without the tireless efforts of so many brilliant engineers, scientists, and collaborators. It’s amazing to see something was worked on for literally decades finally come to life. You all made this p...