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Europa's Ice May Be Miles Thick

Posted by michael on from the crunchy-on-the-outside dept.

serutan writes "Space.com has an article detailing recent measurements of the shell of ice covering what is believed to be an enormously deep ocean on Europa, which could harbor life. The thickness of the ice -- many times the previous estimate -- poses a major obstacle to sending a lander that would burrow down through it to the water. [Seems like if they could make the probe kinda warm it would eventually sink through any amount of ice.]"

1 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Make a crater? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The whole idea is to look for life... You gonna do this by dropping a comet on them??? How they going to take this?

    Seriously, you could disrupt things that way even if it's only bacteria mats.