For centuries, Europa has captivated humanity’s imagination. This icy moon of Jupiter contains a vast, global ocean twice the volume of all Earth’s oceans combined, making it a prime candidate for harboring extraterrestrial life.
“We think there’s an ocean there, everywhere,” says Bob Pappalardo, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. “Essentially everywhere on Earth that there’s water, there’s life. Could there be life on Europa?”
It’s a profound question we’ve longed to answer. Now, after years of anticipation, we stand at the threshold of a monumental endeavor to find out.
This October, NASA’s Europa Clipper will embark on a quest to study Europa’s icy surface and subsurface ocean. Its goal? Determine if this mysterious, far-off world contains the ingredients for life.
For Nicholas Makris, who oversees MIT’s Center for Ocean Engineering, Europa’s potential for life drives his pioneering research. Using sound waves, he’s probed miles beneath the moon’s icy shell, mapping its enigmatic depths.
“You have to find out,” he says. “Everyone wants to know. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t want to know.”
Yet space is full of perils. Jupiter’s intense radiation could fry Clipper’s electronics. Frigid temperatures sap available solar power. To overcome these hurdles, scientists equipped Clipper with protective shielding and massive solar panels.
The payoff for success is immense: finding even microbial life would revolutionize our understanding of the universe. But conclusive proof may remain elusive.
“Unless we get really lucky, we’re not going to be able to tell if there is life there,” says planetary geologist Louise Prockter, co-investigator on Clipper’s camera team. “But we can find out if all the conditions are right for life.”
