NASA has successfully launched a vehicle designed to explore an ocean-covered world in our solar system and search for the building blocks of life.

Once the Europa Clipper reaches its destination, it will examine Jupiter’s moon Europa. This moon is almost completely covered by a vast ocean beneath a crust of ice. Scientists have long speculated that the moon – which also has a thin but oxygen-rich atmosphere – could harbor simple life forms.

The Clipper is the end result of a $5.2 billion project that began in 2013. It is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever launched and will have a years-long journey to the moon, whose surface ice layers could be up to ten miles thick.

“Europa Clipper will undoubtedly deliver breathtaking science,” said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While it is always bittersweet to send something we have worked on for years on its long journey, we know that this remarkable team and spacecraft will expand our knowledge of our solar system and inspire future exploration.”

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carried the Clipper from Earth and separated from the spacecraft an hour after liftoff. The Clipper is expected to complete its 1.8 million mile journey and enter Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030. NASA hopes the spacecraft will successfully fly past the moon 49 times to take measurements.

“Everything we’re going to learn from Europa is just incredible,” NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Jenny Kampmeier said during the livestream of the launch. “All scientific disciplines really have something to gain from this, and it will change our understanding of our place in the universe, if this is a world that could support life.”

Watch the launch below: