WASHINGTON: United States (US) space agency NASA has finished sketching out plans to send a probe to Europa, Jupiter’s most curious moon, and is ready to put the operation into action.
Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered in a thick layer of constantly-shifting ice which appears to be floating atop a deep, warm ocean.
Scientists have long suggested that it’s the most likely place that life might have evolved beyond Earth.
“Today we’re taking an exciting step from concept to mission, in our quest to find signs of life beyond Earth,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Observations of Europa have provided us with tantalizing clues over the last two decades, and the time has come to seek answers to one of humanity’s most profound questions.”
