The Great Red Spot is a gargantuan, high-pressure vortex called an anticyclonic storm that has been raging in Jupiter's southern hemisphere for at least 350 years. The storm's physical width has varied in roughly 150 years of observation, but it's believed to be more than 10,000 miles wide – more than enough to contain the entirety of Earth.

After a 1.8 billion-mile journey, the uncrewed spacecraft is expected to settle into orbit around Jupiter in 2030, in an endeavor to find out if the moon, Europa, is habitable.

NASA launched its Europa Clipper spacecraft Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for its first mission to Jupiter since 2011. The mission lifted off at 12:06 p.m. ET amid favorable weather conditions for the Europa Clipper to begin its six-year journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa.