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

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.