Is Jupiter's moon Europa habitable? NASA advances plan to find out.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Could life exist on Jupiter's moon Europa?
NASA just moved a step closer to answering that longstanding question. The space agency announced Monday that it would move forward with its long-anticipated Europa Clipper mission , which aims to place a robotic spacecraft in orbit around an icy moon that's considered one of the most likeliest places in our solar system to find alien life .
"We are all excited about the decision that moves the Europa Clipper mission one key step closer to unlocking the mysteries of this ocean world," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the science mission directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.
Plans call for the van-sized spacecraft at the heart of the $4.25 billion mission to be designed, built and tested primarily at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The craft is expected to be ready for launch as early as 2023; it will be propelled into space from Cape Canaveral, possibly by NASA's giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket . The journey to Europa will take about three years — possibly longer if another rocket is used.
Europa, which was discovered by Galileo in 1610, is about 1,940 miles in diameter — or roughly 90 percent of the size of Earth's natural satellite . It circles Jupiter at a distance of about 417,000 miles above the surface of the gas giant, which circles the sun at a distance of about 500 million miles.
A vast ocean believed to exist under Europa's cracked, icy crust and the recent discovery of sodium chloride (table salt) on its surface suggests that the subsurface ocean may be more like Earth's salty oceans than scientists had realized. Scientists think Europa's ocean may be home to microbial life.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft will be equipped with nine scientific instruments, including cameras, chemical and magnetic sensors and ice-penetrating radar. The spacecraft will use these instruments in an attempt to confirm the existence of the subsurface ocean and determine whether it might be habitable.
"What we want to understand is whether Europa has the potential for life," said project scientist Robert Pappalardo.
In addition to water, life as we know it requires carbon, nitrogen and other molecules as well as a source of energy. "Life is like a little battery, and we need to understand if the plus and minus of the battery are there," Pappalardo said. "We're pretty sure the stuff on the surface can serve as fuel for life if it can get into the ocean."
If the data it collects indicates that Europa is habitable, Pappalardo said, the Europa Clipper mission might be followed by a mission to land a spacecraft on the surface. A lander might be able to confirm the existence of life on Europa — though, given the time needed to design and build a lander and get it to the distant moon, the answer might not come until the 2040s.
Pappalardo said more than a thousand people have been working to develop the Europa Clipper mission, whose origins can be traced to the late 1990s. With so many people having worked for so long just to reach this point, he called NASA's decision to move forward a "big deal."
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A decent chance to find exolife within our solar system.
If we do find exolife somewhere, what does that mean?
Off the top of my head? It would mean that the universe is almost certainly teaming with life. Earth, (duh), Mars most likely supported some form of life in the past and if Europe is found to have life...that would be three planets in ONE solar system that support(ed) life.
If life is found, it'll be one of the most significant discoveries in scientific history. Very exciting too.
Yup
Fascinating. Just fascinating.
I have followed this off and on again for years.
Looks like we might get an orbiter soon.
Will there be a monolith? LOL.
Seriously, if life is found there, a realm of all kind of thoughts, speculation and even science fiction all become a possibility, all at once.
Just fascinating.
Not as unlikely as you might think Dave. Here's a part of a letter from the late Science Fiction author, Robert Heinlein, written to his agent in 1946 and printed in his posthumously published book Grumbles From the Grave.
He also said at one time and, I believe, correctly, that the wilder a prediction about the future is, the more likely it is to come true.
Every time I hear or read about Europa, I hear Richard Strauss's "Sprach Zarathrustra" in my mind.
I have an urge to watch 2001 & 2010.
Watching 2001 is always a good option.
I always thought Roy Scheider was great in 2010! One of his better movies after Jaws 1 & 2.
Agreed. 2010 was also underrated.
2010 was a fitting sequel to 2001, and captured the same spirit.
Roy Scheider was good in everything. But I agree, 2010 was a fantastic movie.
I really enjoyed him in SeaQuest DSV, but it was the studio and producers that really flopped on that that.
Loved that show, used to be on Netflix but they yanked it. Maybe google play?
Cool.
Thanks.
Only problem I see is getting through the ice to explore the ocean below. The average temp on Europa is -260 F. Two options:
1) Melt a hole through the ice, but the problem is that at -260 F, the water will turn back into ice almost immediately. If they send an autonomous probe, that won't be a problem but if it's tethered? No way it's going to happen.
2) Drill through the ice. Ice that is that cold is almost literally concrete. Drilling would almost certainly require a crew to operate the drill.
Neither of these plans is really viable anyway. The ice on Europa is 10-15 miles thick, drilling or melting to the sea below seems unlikely, but I am sure NASA has a plan.
All I can say is if we send humans there? Better pack your mittens.
Drill with lasers perhaps?
Had not thought of that one. Thanks Ed..
I guess if the laser was hot enough, it would vaporize the water and leave a tube to the ocean... Who knows, I guess that's why NASA hires the smart people. LOL
If Europa is habitable and people go there, it won't be habitable for long.
Habitable? I doubt it, way too cold. -260 F....things no matter how well designed tend to stop working at temps that low. Gas, oil, lubricant...all turn to rock at that temp, and too far away for any appreciable solar energy.
But I get your point, and I don't disagree.
It's a very exciting mission, I look forward to seeing results (lol only 7 years (maybe longer) to go)
Europa is one of the most fascinating places in the system. I predict that they will find huge kingdoms of sea monkeys there. These are highly intelligent sea monkeys who invaded earth aeons ago but the colonists here found religion and rejected science causing such damage to their society on earth that their only purpose here now is flamingo food and kid's aquariums.