Hurricane Milton Stomps on NASA's Europa Clipper Launch

Well, folks, just when you thought it was safe to launch a rocket, Mother Nature decides to throw another tantrum. This time, it's Hurricane Milton causing a ruckus and forcing NASA to hit the pause button on its much-hyped Europa Clipper mission.

The Europa Clipper, an uncrewed orbiter set to hitch a ride on a SpaceX rocket from sunny Florida, was all geared up for its six-year voyage to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Why Europa, you ask? Well, scientists think there's a vast ocean hidden under its icy surface, making it a prime spot to hunt for alien life.

But alas, Milton, the party-pooper hurricane that it is, had other plans. The storm is now barreling towards Florida's already bruised western coast, threatening to bring heavy rain and high winds to the east coast, where our poor little Europa Clipper is waiting at the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA and SpaceX, not ones to mess with Mother Nature, decided to tuck the spacecraft safely into a hangar at Launch Complex 39A. This comes just over a week after Hurricane Helene caused a bunch of delays for the Crew-9 mission. Remember that one? It finally sent a couple of astronauts to the International Space Station on a Boeing Starliner.

Tim Dunn, NASA's senior launch director, assured everyone that safety is their top priority. "The safety of launch team personnel is our highest priority, and all precautions will be taken to protect the Europa Clipper spacecraft," he said.

Hurricane Milton Puts Europa Clipper on Ice

Launch teams had the Europa Clipper all prepped and ready to be mated with the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Friday. But then Milton showed up, spoiling everyone's fun and forcing NASA to delay the mission on Sunday.

As of Monday morning, Milton beefed up from a Category 3 to a Category 4 storm, packing winds of up to 150 mph as it cruised across the Gulf of Mexico. While it might weaken a bit before hitting the coast, it's still expected to be one heck of a storm when it makes landfall in Florida, according to hurricane center specialist Jack Beven.

The Mission to Find ET on Europa

NASA has been itching to send the Europa Clipper to Jupiter's fourth-largest moon for years. Why the excitement? Well, aside from the ocean, scientists suspect that Europa's icy crust might be hiding organic compounds and energy sources that could support life.

The Clipper, decked out with massive solar arrays and radar antennas, is NASA's biggest planetary mission spacecraft to date. Once it reaches Europa by 2030, it'll start mapping and scanning the moon's surface and subsurface during nearly 50 flybys to see if our icy neighbor is indeed habitable.

New Launch Date TBD

NASA hasn't set a new launch date for the Europa Clipper yet, but the window is open until Nov. 6. Once Milton clears out, teams will check the spaceport for safety, assess any storm damage, and then get back to business.

"Once we have the 'all-clear' followed by facility assessment and any recovery actions, we will determine the next launch opportunity for this NASA flagship mission," Dunn said.

Stay tuned, folks. We'll let you know when the Europa Clipper finally gets off the ground.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com