Leading scientist says dive into sea on Jupiter's moon tops his planetary science wish list
NASA Here on Earth, all life needs to gain a foothold is liquid water and an energy source.
Europa likely boasts both, with hydrothermal vents gushing from the seafloor as they do on our planet, researchers say. And Earth's deep-sea vent systems host vibrant ecosystems.
"You do the calculations for Europa, and what you find is that there ought to be hydrothermal activity; there ought to be volcanic activity at Europa's seafloor," said Squyres, who recently chaired the
U.S. National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which lays out the scientific community's goals for planetary science over the next 10 years.
"This is a chance to search for a potentially habitable environment today on another world," he added. ...
