Ice fishing on Europa

Europa    (NASA Photo)

If Earth hasn't been cold enough for you lately, you might want to consider ice fishing on Europa someday.

Dubbed Jupiter's "watery moon" by The Associated Press, Europa is "a place where astronomers speculate

there might be some form of life."

Wikipedia explains that Europa is not only the "sixth-closest moon of the planet Jupiter," but is also the "sixth-largest moon in the Solar System."  Its "tenuous" atmosphere is composed primarily of oxygen, and its surface is composed of water ice.  "Clay-like minerals,"

often associated with "organic materials," have been found on its surface.  

NASA has allocated $15 million for planning a robotic mission to Europa.  This mission, to be launched circa 2025, will surely concentrate on "searching for life in the strange liquid water under the ice-covered surface."

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has speculated:  "There might be fish under the ice."

Sashimi anyone?    

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-plots-daring-flight-jupiters-watery-moon-215733641.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)

Copyright March 6, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved