By Sebastian Anthony
In a rather intriguing twist, it appears that NASA is now mandated by law to fly a robotic mission to Jupiter’s watery moon Europa. Europa is an incredibly exciting science target, as it’s believed to have a 100-kilometer-thick (62 miles) outer layer of water, with water ice on top (it’s very cold out there) and a liquid water ocean beneath that. It’s believed that there’s more water on Europa than the entirety of Earth, despite being just a quarter the width of Earth. As we continue to learn more about the tenacious lifeforms found in deep, cold waters here on Earth, excitement grows over the possibility of Europa’s oceans harboring extraterrestrial life.
