Did You See Them
20th August 2019, 14:59
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NASA is moving ahead with an ambitious mission to explore a moon of Jupiter and discover whether it could support life.
The icy world Europa has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in the solar system, which - coupled with its apparent youth - has led scientists to believe that it could harbour an ocean beneath its outer crust.
It is a theory that has been well supported by a number of recent discoveries, including what were believed to be plumes of water spewing from the surface, as seen by astronomers through the Hubble Space Telescope.
Such conditions may mean extra-terrestrial biology is present, and NASA has given the all-clear for its Europa team to complete the final design of a spacecraft dedicated to exploring the moon.
It is hoped that the Europa Clipper vessel may be ready to launch as early as 2023, although the US space agency has only committed to it being good to go by 2025.
https://news.sky.com/story/nasa-confirms-mission-to-discover-if-jupiter-moon-europa-can-support-life-11789889
NASA is moving ahead with an ambitious mission to explore a moon of Jupiter and discover whether it could support life.
The icy world Europa has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in the solar system, which - coupled with its apparent youth - has led scientists to believe that it could harbour an ocean beneath its outer crust.
It is a theory that has been well supported by a number of recent discoveries, including what were believed to be plumes of water spewing from the surface, as seen by astronomers through the Hubble Space Telescope.
Such conditions may mean extra-terrestrial biology is present, and NASA has given the all-clear for its Europa team to complete the final design of a spacecraft dedicated to exploring the moon.
It is hoped that the Europa Clipper vessel may be ready to launch as early as 2023, although the US space agency has only committed to it being good to go by 2025.
https://news.sky.com/story/nasa-confirms-mission-to-discover-if-jupiter-moon-europa-can-support-life-11789889