NASA scientists hope to search for signs of life on Jupiter's moon Europa

Europa
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute)

Do we have neighbors on Jupiter's moon Europa? That's what NASA officials want to find out, and they asked scientists at a workshop earlier this week to consider ways to search for alien life within plumes of water vapor that seem to shoot from the moon's surface, Space.com reports.

NASA has been working on a mission to Europa for years, and while the exploration would primarily focus on determining whether the moon could one day support human life, NASA science chief John Grunsfeld said plume-focused studies should not be overlooked.

"I don't want to be sitting in my rocking char 20 years from now and think, 'We should have done something,'" he said.

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Incidentally, by the time NASA's Europa probe is approved, completed, and sent toward Jupiter's moon, Grunsfeld will probably be in his rocking chair anyway; the earliest mission arrival date to the planet's system is 2030.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.