One of Jupiter's 67 moons, Europa is of special interest to scientists. Europa is about the size of our moon, but the entire surface is covered in ice, and it is hypothesized that there is an incredible ocean of liquid water under the surface of the ice. From gathered data, the ocean is predicted to be anywhere from 25-100 km deep. This volume of water is potentially 2-3 times larger than the entire amount of water on Earth, so this is a great discovery. Several scientists and roboticists have hypothesized on different ways to drill into the ice and study the ocean beneath. One model involves a melting drill to bore a hole to the liquid, and then a submersible device to investigate the seas below. It has been successfully tested, and can also be used to investigate terrestrial ice structures.
Overall the future of Europa depends on NASA funding. With enough support, we could send a rover or a drilling device to investigate and learn much more about our neighboring planets and moons. Perhaps we could even find life down there, lurking in the deep.
-Colin Downs
Great post. How far away is Europa and if such an exploration was underway, what would a time frame be?
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see how far drilling has come. 100km is deep and a lot of ice. I have the same questions as Jon, when do we start exploring the deep oceans of space?
ReplyDeleteCrazy to think there is that much water possibly there. How was the melting drill tested? Do we know how deep the ice may be before getting to water?
ReplyDelete-Adam
What would the long-term impacts be of drilling in Europa's ice? Has NASA ever said what they think they might find under the ice?
ReplyDelete