Future missions may be able to take only a small, damaged sample from space back to Earth. A simple analysis tool could help determine whether its contents suggest the presence of life.
Articles on Europa
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Microbes hidden deep in ocean volcanoes could resemble life on other planets or moons.
On October 10, Europa Clipper will take off on a long journey to Jupiter’s moon Europa. The icy moon could potentially host alien life – and there’s only one way to find out.
The mission will investigate the potential for life at the icy moon of Jupiter.
The manoeuvres will set up an encounter with Jupiter in 2031.
Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting tiny grains of ice into space. These grains could hold traces of life − but researchers need the right tools to tell.
An instrument on the Europa Clipper mission might be able to detect biological cells from space.
The Solar System could be awash with oceans, not on the surface but hidden inside the most surprising bodies
Europa Clipper will contain a plaque that celebrates humanity’s relationship with water and a decades-old tradition of searching for life outside Earth.
Only about 12kg of oxygen is produced per second on Europa, which is on the lower side of previous estimates from about 5kg to 1,100 kg per second.
Moons and asteroids will be visited by spacecraft from Earth next year.
Expect lots of space missions to launch this coming year, with exciting new science to follow.
Planetary analogues are sites on Earth that are so extreme that they replicate those of celestial bodies in our solar system.
We’re going to get up close and personal with three of Jupiter’s largest moons like never before.
Europa Clipper and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer missions will arrive at Jupiter in the 2030s and provide researchers with unprecedented access to the moons orbiting the gas giant.
The clouds of Venus may harbour alien life. But where else?
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission just got the green light - here’s what it could achieve.
Whether anything could live in Europa’s subsurface ocean depends on what kind of salt it contains. Now scientists have found out.
NASA’s InSight Mars lander touches down Nov. 26, part of a careful robotic approach to exploring the red planet. But human exploration of Mars will inevitably introduce Earth life. Are you OK with that?
We could find evidence of life on Europa within a couple of decades.
Top contributors
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Professor of Physics, Deputy Director (Solar System) at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL
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Postdoctoral research associate, University of Oxford
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Research Fellow/Reader in Planetary Physics, Lancaster University
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Sea ice microbial physiologist, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University
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Kevin Orrman-Rossiter is a Friend of The Conversation.
Sterrenkenner, History & Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Planetary Science, University of Leicester
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Senior Instrument Scientist, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
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President, METI International; Professor Emeritus, California Institute of Integral Studies
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Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
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Assistant Professor of Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside
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Assistant Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University
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Space Projects Manager & Mission Design Lead, University of Portsmouth
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Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, Purdue University