Getting Closer to Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa was a hot topic at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. Europa has received renewed attention in recent years, as scientists have used new data to clarify their assumptions about the intriguing moon.

There's a clear consensus now that Europa hides an ocean beneath an icy shell, and now scientists are planning new experiments designed to discover more about the alien world. For example, a radar survey conducted by an orbiter could tell them whether the ice above that ocean is thick or thin. This, in turn, might help them plan future missions down into the watery depths.

This sort of robotic adventure still appears to be a long way off, but that hasn't stopped some researchers from planning ahead. For the ultimate Europa payoff, though, take a look at the end of James Cameron's documentary Aliens of the Deep.—Gregory Mone

(Image credit: NASA/JPL)

Comments

[Mick]

This is something realy cool, and I found my self wondering why no ones comment and makeing bets about when and if we will find life under the ice in the oceans.
my odds 9 out of 10 we will get under the ice before we get to mars

7 out of 10 for finding alge and simple life forms

1 out of for other form of life.

[hakeemhaqq]

I think this is cool too, let your emagination wonder and just think of the implications if their was life. we might find some new kind of virus like organism that fed on a aids or cancer infected cell, thus curing aids and cancer. I believe that europa in some time will exist. Where humans can studie the sciences everyday without having to worry about the industrial work.

[Daily Impressions]

In all good time im sure we will find some kind of life. There is more stars and planets in our galaxy then there are grains of sand on earth. The right conditions exist somewhere out there just as it does for our planet.

[Deamon]

I just hope that in our quest for space exploration... we will take the approach that all planets are inhibited rather then not and we won't shoot some weird robots that digs through their planet crust to satisfy our curiosity.

[yo yo mama]

this is the best i love you

[Europan Sea Creature]

WTF?? Leave us alone!!

[jab]

All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there.

[Steve-o]

Europans endorse Ron Paul for president! Mainly because he will kill the space program since it's not in the constitution.

[HAL]

All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there.

All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there.

All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there.

All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no landing there.

[Brown Line]

Well, environmental extremists are attempting to have Mars declared off limits to human exploration - in fact, there is a bill to that effect before the US Senate now. No doubt, they'll want to do the same to Europa.

That being said, there are genuine concerns about introducing Earth organisms into Europa if a robot does penetrate through the ice. According to Archaeology magazine, the Apollo 12 mission recovered portions of a Surveyor lander, and found that it had Staphylococcus on it, from a worker who sneezed on it while assembling the thing. The germs were viable despite having been exposed to the extreme temperatures and extreme ultraviolet radiation of the Moon for more than two years. Or, for something closer to home, the Great Lakes are now thoroughly infested with zebra mussels. The mussel was introduced by a freighter that discharged some ballast water from the Black Sea into Lake Michigan: one moment's carelessness by one human being permanently changed life in the largest body of fresh water on Earth.

It would be an unspeakable tragedy to discover that there is life on Europa, only to have it wiped out by some organism that we accidentally introduced. So, I hope that we can find some way to examine what's under the ice without penetrating it.

[Chris]

There is no form of life on earth that could reproduce and metabolize food in liquid methane. The martian environment is mild compared to this one.

The idea that we could intoduce a species that wreck the environment is pretty silly.

[Skywarner]

Simple life forms have the ability to develop and thrive in the most harshest of conditions. Hundreds of millions ago, before there ever was an ozone level (eh, Al Gore must not have invented that yet!), microbial life forms took root in the ice-covered and oxygen deprived oceans of our own planet. Why wouldn't the same possibilities exist on Europa?

[Krontekag]

Chris at 7.02pm.... The liquid under the water ice crust of Europa would almost certainly be water.

[SCIENCE AND SCIENTIST - Inquiring into the Origin of Matter and Life]

We thought you might be interested --


SCIENCE AND SCIENTIST
Inquiring into the Origin of Matter and Life
January-March 2008

Bhaktivedanata Institute's latest quarterly newsletter
is now available online.

You can download the January-March 2008 issue from:
http://scienceandscientist.org/current.php

____________ _________ _________ ____________ _________ _________ __

What's it about?

Modern science has generally been directed toward investigating
the material world, excluding consideration of the conscious
scientist who is essential to the whole process, since, of
course, the very existence of the scientific endeavor itself
depends upon consciousness. Complete scientific knowledge must
consequently include both objective science and subjective
consciousness.


In addition to other programs, Bhaktivedanta Institute's Science
and Scientist Newsletter is humbly offered to inspire scientists
and scholars to contribute their sincere efforts toward
developing this grand synthesis. The result will be valuable not
only for helping to better understand the "hard" problems of
science such as the nature and origin of life and the cosmos, the
mind-brain connection, artificial intelligence, etc. But the
pressing problems of ethics in science, world peace, and
interfaith dialog will also benefit from a more inclusive
scientific worldview.


In our modern era science and religion are the predominating
influences determining the fate of mankind. Promoting and
developing a culture of harmony between such diverse fields has
the potential to expand our conception of reality and advance
human knowledge in the new millennium, in which it is said the
study of life will be pre-eminent. Let us welcome the dawn of
that new epoch with great hope and determined endeavor.
____________ _________ _________ ____________ _________ _________ __


Newsletter Homepage: http://www.scienceandscientist.org


Newsletter Subscription:
http://www.scienceandscientist.org/subscribe.html


Please send comments/questions to:
editors@scienceandscientist.org

[Wholesale Suppliers]

Europa is the sixth moon of the planet Jupiter, and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites.Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and streaks, while craters are relatively infrequent. The apparent youth and smoothness of the surface have led to the hypothesis that a water ocean exists beneath it, which could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life.