And then from time to time, we find evidence that the world is really a science fiction novel:
Scientists find a flourishing ecosystem half a mile beneath Antarctic ice
. . . in a lake that hasn’t been touched by sunshine or wind in millions of years, life goes on. . . . Many of the micro-organisms found are single-celled organisms, called Archaea, that survive by converting ammonium and methane into energy in a harsh environment similar to those found elsewhere in our solar system, such as on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
How about that? The obvious conclusion is that there is life on Europa! Right? I, for one, would like somebody to go find out.
Luckily, someone appears to be planning to do just that:
The first Europe-led mission to the outer solar system will explore the icy moons of Jupiter. The European Space Agency approved the JUICE—JUpiter ICy moons Explorer—mission yesterday. The project’s solar-powered spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2022 and arrive in the Jovian system by 2030 to spend three years exploring the moons Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa…
Pretty snazzy. The only thing I object to is waiting till 2030. Can somebody please find a faster way to do cool stuff.
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