Science NASA just announced it'll be visiting this beautiful moon for the first time - Page 3

**Dave Lane** · 02-03-2015, 08:00 PM

The hunt for extraterrestrial life just grew a little hotter.

On Monday, during his State of NASA speech, administrator Charles Bolden announced that NASA would be selecting projects to accompany a probe to Jupiter's moon Europa.

Floating in space about 390 million miles from earth, Europa is a remote ice ball that harbors a massive ocean underneath its surface.

So massive, in fact, that scientists suspect Europa could have as much as two to three times more liquid water than Earth does.

Judging from the abundance of life thriving in Earth's oceans, where there's liquid water, there's the potential for life.

Not only that, Europa is absolutely gorgeous:

Europa is about 1,900 miles in diameter — slightly smaller than our moon. The brown veins that give the moon it's iconic beauty are still a mystery, but the leading theory is that they show where Europa's crust cracked open, letting warmer, dirtier water seep through and then freeze.
Jupiter's strong gravitational tug on the tiny moon generates tidal forces that stretch the entire surface — similar to how the Moon's gravity tugs the water in Earth's oceans, creating tides. The stretching then cracks the crust, letting water deep beneath the surface to seep through.

But that's not the only impact the gas giant has on its moon. As NASA astrobiologist Kevin Hand explains in a video about Europa:

Europa has liquid water because the moon is orbiting Jupiter, and the tidal tug and pull causes Europa to flex up and down — all that tidal energy turns into friction and heat that helps maintain this liquid water ocean beneath an icy shell.

Below is a close-up of the circular impact crater in the southern hemisphere in the image above. Called Pwyll, the impact crater is a relatively new feature on the surface of Europa, and it is also compelling evidence of the enormous ocean sloshing underneath the surface.
Scientists suspect that when the impactor hit, it splattered fresh, fine water ice particles everywhere that now show up as the bright-white arms adorning the moon's face around the darker crater. NASA's Galileo spacecraft — the only probe to fly by Europa more than once — took the image below in 1998 showing the darker crater, which is about 16 miles in diameter.

he impact crater's arms reach far across the surface. Even 620 miles north of the crater you can see evidence of the white streaks in the awesome close-up shot below.
The white and blue colors are the residual ice particles from the blast. Galileo snapped this photo of this region, which is 44 miles wide by 19 miles long, in 1996.

Although Galileo took the most detailed images of Europa we have, astronomers still don't know exactly how much liquid water there is or if life hides underneath the moon's icy shell. That is why, just last year, NASA issued a Request for Information to the scientific community to offer up ideas on the best, economically viable approach to study this amazing moon.
Now, it looks as if some of those ideas might have paid off as scientists look forward to learning more about the future mission to Europa this spring.

According to NASA the mission should complete the following tasks:

Characterize the extent of the ocean and its relation to the deeper interior
Characterize the ice shell and any subsurface water, including their heterogeneity, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange
Determine global surface, compositions and chemistry, especially as related to habitability
Understand the formation of surface features, including sites of recent or current activity, identify and characterize candidate sites for future detailed exploration
Understand Europa’s space environment and interaction with the magnetosphere.
Twitter users expressed their excitement about the latest news:

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-...#ixzz3QjmtNrnU

**Dave Lane** · 02-03-2015, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Should spent your money in these instead . Better investment.

I liked the Revolutionary War ones.

-King- · 02-04-2015, 12:03 AM

How long would it take for the probe to get to Europa? 2ish years?

**DaneMcCloud** · 02-04-2015, 12:41 AM

It would be a major disappointment if a probe didn't find life on Europa

**DaneMcCloud** · 02-04-2015, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -King-

How long would it take for the probe to get to Europa? 2ish years?

NASA says 3 years

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa/faq.cfm

**Gadzooks** · 02-04-2015, 12:49 AM

The probe will get there and then what?

We don't even know what's roaming around the deep seas of Earth.

Don't get me wrong. Europa is my favorite of Jupiter's moons

**Dave Lane** · 02-04-2015, 01:03 AM

ALL THESE WORLDS
ARE YOURS EXCEPT
EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO
LANDING THERE

**DaneMcCloud** · 02-04-2015, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

The probe will get there and then what?

Don't get me wrong. Europa is my favorite of Jupiter's moons

Well if it actually finds life, it'll be worth the $2.8 billion dollars spent, IMO.

jonzie04 · 02-04-2015, 01:20 AM

I cant imagine how deep the water is there if theyre speculating it has 2-3 times as much water as the earth, while being smaller than our moon. jfc.

RINGLEADER · 02-04-2015, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

"Lifeforce" was hard Sci-Fi, especially during my teen years.

And we're bringing it back! Series starts next fall. Announcement soon!

**Rausch** · 02-04-2015, 02:40 AM

I thank God for industry taking over as many space missions as possible.

Until NASA is free of DARPA and NI there won't be a legit mission in the clear...

seamonster · 02-04-2015, 04:39 AM

I'd almost wonder if this would be the better terraforming opportunity than Mars. mars has a tone of frozen carbon that could be thawed to create an earth-like atmosphere but it takes like 600 years. May be worth it after humans pillage earth and turn it into a chinese smogged out waste land.

seamonster · 02-04-2015, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

The probe will get there and then what?

We don't even know what's roaming around the deep seas of Earth.

Don't get me wrong. Europa is my favorite of Jupiter's moons

I know the silly english and other european frauds like to pretend they invented computers, but modern real-ass computing came from Intel and NASA rocket technology. Intel cut it's teeth building trajectory compute systems for nuclear bombs and NASA. I'm all for space exploration because of the innovation...SpaceX or NASA.

BWillie · 02-04-2015, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seamonster

I'd almost wonder if this would be the better terraforming opportunity than Mars. mars has a tone of frozen carbon that could be thawed to create an earth-like atmosphere but it takes like 600 years. May be worth it after humans pillage earth and turn it into a chinese smogged out waste land.

Who cares? You and I are not immortal. If I was, I might care. But I am not Duncan Macleud. I will die long before any of this makes any difference.

jiveturkey · 02-04-2015, 07:40 AM

This is exciting news indeed. Titan is the other major target that I hope they include in future missions. Mars seems like a total waste of time. At best it could be a base camp for missions deeper into the solar system. Ceres would probably be a better candidate for something like that though. It would also allow for easier access to the belt for resource pillaging.

I read too much scifi.

keg in kc · 02-04-2015, 08:01 AM

If Mars hosted an ancient civilization of some kind and/or was more earth-like before some catastrophe and/or has current life of any variety then it would certainly be worth exploring. Phobos is pretty quirky, too, as far as moons go.

I think we should explore everywhere we can possibly reach, though, and should look long term at colonization off earth. We're one event away from extinction, no matter how remote that possibility is, if we're only in one place. I don't think it will be pretty, or fair, when we start to migrate, but it needs to happen.

And it's taken these ****ers long enough to get to Europa. Be 20 years behind by the time we get there!

02-03-2015, 08:00 PM
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	NASA just announced it'll be visiting this beautiful moon for the first time The hunt for extraterrestrial life just grew a little hotter. On Monday, during his State of NASA speech, administrator Charles Bolden announced that NASA would be selecting projects to accompany a probe to Jupiter's moon Europa. Floating in space about 390 million miles from earth, Europa is a remote ice ball that harbors a massive ocean underneath its surface. So massive, in fact, that scientists suspect Europa could have as much as two to three times more liquid water than Earth does. Judging from the abundance of life thriving in Earth's oceans, where there's liquid water, there's the potential for life. Not only that, Europa is absolutely gorgeous: Europa is about 1,900 miles in diameter — slightly smaller than our moon. The brown veins that give the moon it's iconic beauty are still a mystery, but the leading theory is that they show where Europa's crust cracked open, letting warmer, dirtier water seep through and then freeze. Jupiter's strong gravitational tug on the tiny moon generates tidal forces that stretch the entire surface — similar to how the Moon's gravity tugs the water in Earth's oceans, creating tides. The stretching then cracks the crust, letting water deep beneath the surface to seep through. But that's not the only impact the gas giant has on its moon. As NASA astrobiologist Kevin Hand explains in a video about Europa: Europa has liquid water because the moon is orbiting Jupiter, and the tidal tug and pull causes Europa to flex up and down — all that tidal energy turns into friction and heat that helps maintain this liquid water ocean beneath an icy shell. Below is a close-up of the circular impact crater in the southern hemisphere in the image above. Called Pwyll, the impact crater is a relatively new feature on the surface of Europa, and it is also compelling evidence of the enormous ocean sloshing underneath the surface. Scientists suspect that when the impactor hit, it splattered fresh, fine water ice particles everywhere that now show up as the bright-white arms adorning the moon's face around the darker crater. NASA's Galileo spacecraft — the only probe to fly by Europa more than once — took the image below in 1998 showing the darker crater, which is about 16 miles in diameter. he impact crater's arms reach far across the surface. Even 620 miles north of the crater you can see evidence of the white streaks in the awesome close-up shot below. The white and blue colors are the residual ice particles from the blast. Galileo snapped this photo of this region, which is 44 miles wide by 19 miles long, in 1996. Although Galileo took the most detailed images of Europa we have, astronomers still don't know exactly how much liquid water there is or if life hides underneath the moon's icy shell. That is why, just last year, NASA issued a Request for Information to the scientific community to offer up ideas on the best, economically viable approach to study this amazing moon. Now, it looks as if some of those ideas might have paid off as scientists look forward to learning more about the future mission to Europa this spring. According to NASA the mission should complete the following tasks: Characterize the extent of the ocean and its relation to the deeper interior Characterize the ice shell and any subsurface water, including their heterogeneity, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange Determine global surface, compositions and chemistry, especially as related to habitability Understand the formation of surface features, including sites of recent or current activity, identify and characterize candidate sites for future detailed exploration Understand Europa’s space environment and interaction with the magnetosphere. Twitter users expressed their excitement about the latest news: Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-...#ixzz3QjmtNrnU
Posts: 40,584

02-04-2015, 12:03 AM	#32
-King- ▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▓▓ Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $2505743	How long would it take for the probe to get to Europa? 2ish years? __________________ 🏁
Posts: 63,876

02-04-2015, 12:41 AM	#33
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	It would be a major disappointment if a probe didn't find life on Europa
Posts: 88,960

02-04-2015, 12:49 AM	#35
Gadzooks MFIC Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Tromsø, Norway Casino cash: $3869219	The probe will get there and then what? We don't even know what's roaming around the deep seas of Earth. Don't get me wrong. Europa is my favorite of Jupiter's moons Last edited by Gadzooks; 02-04-2015 at 12:56 AM..
Posts: 7,771

02-04-2015, 01:03 AM	#36
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
Posts: 40,584

02-04-2015, 01:20 AM	#38
jonzie04 MVP Join Date: Feb 2014 Casino cash: $5816817	I cant imagine how deep the water is there if theyre speculating it has 2-3 times as much water as the earth, while being smaller than our moon. jfc.
Posts: 6,779

02-04-2015, 04:39 AM	#41
seamonster Veteran Join Date: Oct 2010 Casino cash: $6005409	I'd almost wonder if this would be the better terraforming opportunity than Mars. mars has a tone of frozen carbon that could be thawed to create an earth-like atmosphere but it takes like 600 years. May be worth it after humans pillage earth and turn it into a chinese smogged out waste land.
Posts: 3,785

02-04-2015, 07:40 AM	#44
jiveturkey Captain Kick Ass Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Kansas Casino cash: $9305197	This is exciting news indeed. Titan is the other major target that I hope they include in future missions. Mars seems like a total waste of time. At best it could be a base camp for missions deeper into the solar system. Ceres would probably be a better candidate for something like that though. It would also allow for easier access to the belt for resource pillaging. I read too much scifi.
Posts: 5,781

02-04-2015, 08:01 AM	#45
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	If Mars hosted an ancient civilization of some kind and/or was more earth-like before some catastrophe and/or has current life of any variety then it would certainly be worth exploring. Phobos is pretty quirky, too, as far as moons go. I think we should explore everywhere we can possibly reach, though, and should look long term at colonization off earth. We're one event away from extinction, no matter how remote that possibility is, if we're only in one place. I don't think it will be pretty, or fair, when we start to migrate, but it needs to happen. And it's taken these ****ers long enough to get to Europa. Be 20 years behind by the time we get there!
Posts: 58,682