Y
Yuri_Armstrong
Guest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Jup ... em_Mission
What an exciting mission. Hopefully this will determine once and for all if there's life in Europa's ocean, and/or possibly Ganymede as well. I think the chances of life under Europa's surface are good. There's a lot of radiation around Jupiter but that thick layer of ice and water should protect anything living down there. Even if we do not find life there, it's sub-surface ocean could be very useful in future space colonization attempts.
The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM, ESA-working title: Laplace) is a proposed joint NASA/ESA unmanned space mission slated to launch around 2020 for the in-depth exploration of Jupiter's moons with a focus on Europa, Ganymede and Jupiter's magnetosphere.
What an exciting mission. Hopefully this will determine once and for all if there's life in Europa's ocean, and/or possibly Ganymede as well. I think the chances of life under Europa's surface are good. There's a lot of radiation around Jupiter but that thick layer of ice and water should protect anything living down there. Even if we do not find life there, it's sub-surface ocean could be very useful in future space colonization attempts.