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NASA officials have given the green light to move forward in the final stages of developing NASA's mission to explore the 79 most exciting satellites in Jupiter.
Europa, smaller than ours, has long been a potential candidate for an exotic lifestyle. Evidence suggests the presence of an ocean below the dense and glacial lunar crust, which can reach tens of kilometers deep.
Scientists believe that this amount of water on the "Europa", owned by Jupiter, may contain the right chemical mix for life and may house some form of organisms, according to the British newspaper "Guardian".
Europa seems to meet the three conditions necessary to start life: water, appropriate chemistry and appropriate energy, which is to heat the tidal amplitude, a phenomenon resulting from the forces of attraction of the Moon.
This can not only stimulate chemical reactions, but also facilitate the movement of chemicals between rocks, surface and oceans, and possibly through thermal vents.
"The ocean of ice of our solar system, which can tell us more about the potential of life in other worlds, is the focus of concern as the next phase of the Europa Clipper mission is confirmed. NASA said on its website.
The decision allowed the mission to complete the final design phase, then move on to the construction phase of the spacecraft and test the payload in the space.
NASA has announced that the mission will conduct a thorough exploration of Europa and verify if the glacier could offer favorable conditions for life. It also aims to complement the Europa Clipper satellite so that it is ready to be launched as early as 2023, with a commitment in 2025.
The mission will search for lakes below the surface and provide data on the thickness of the ice crust of the moon. NASA scientists also hope to confirm the existence of previously discovered water columns by the Galileo spacecraft and the Hubble Space Observatory. Find a way to penetrate the icy crust of the moon to explore the structure of the ocean.
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