• Question: Why have we not sent a prob to juputers moons to look for life

    Asked by therussian to Asif, Laura, Lena, Sean, Viv on 19 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Lena Ciric

      Lena Ciric answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      I assume you mean Europa. We have evidence that there is water and ice on Europa. It is thought that the moon was once not as icy as it is now. The presence of water makes it more likely that life might (or might have) be present. Water is certainly necessary for life here on Earth.

      Have a look at the NASA footage of evidence of liquid water on Europa: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/europa_20111116.html

    • Photo: Sean Murphy

      Sean Murphy answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      The Jupiter Europa Orbiter, as part of the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM), is a joint NASA/ESA proposal for exploration of Jupiter’s moons targeting a launch in 2020. If funded, its main goal would be to look for evidence of a possible subsurface ocean. Lets hope they fund this experiment!

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