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NASA May Send Landers To Europa In 2020

Posted by Soulskill on from the let's-send-a-fleet dept.

wisebabo writes "So here's a proposal by NASA to send landers to Europa to look for life. They are sending two landers because of the risks in landing on Europa. They got that right! First is the 500 million mile distance from the Sun, which will probably necessitate RTGs (Juno uses solar panels, but they are huge) and will cause at least an hour of lag time for communications. Then there is the intense gravitational field of Jupiter, which will require a lot of fuel to get into Jovian and then Europan orbit. (It's equivalent to traveling amongst the inner planets!) The radiation in space around Jupiter is tremendous, so the spacecraft may need to be 'armored' like Juno. Landing on Europa is going to be crazy; there aren't any hi-res maps of the landing areas (unlike Mars) and even if there were, the geography of Europa might change due to the shifting ice. Since there is no atmosphere, it'll be rockets down all the way; very expensive in terms of fuel — like landing on the Moon. Finally, who knows what the surface is like; is it a powder, rock hard, crumbly or slippery? In a couple respects, looking for life on Titan (where we've already landed one simple probe) would be a lot easier: dense atmosphere, no radiation, radar mapped from space, knowledge of surface). If only we could do both!"

8 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Shouldn't be NASA. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think Europe should send probes to Europa.

  2. Ten years late, but still..... by nura78 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Weren't we warned about not not landing there? :-P

  3. The awkward moment... by filmorris · · Score: 4, Funny

    The awkward moment when you read "NASA May Send Landers To Europe In 2020"

    --
    "Hello, IT... Have you tried turning it off and on again? Yeah... No problem."
    1. Re:The awkward moment... by morgaen · · Score: 4, Funny

      Those pesky socialists won't liberate themselves...

    2. Re:The awkward moment... by Surt · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, it's a lot less expensive to get a lander to Europe, and the chance of finding any intelligent life is only marginally worse.

      --
      "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  4. Misread headline by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Funny

    I opened slashdot while wrapping Christmas presents and read the headline as "Nasa May Send Lawyers to Europa." My thought was, "Be sure to send them all."

    --
    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  5. Dear Mr Monolith by PPH · · Score: 4, Funny

    I am writing to inform you that we have indeed taken your warning to heart. In order to avoid making contact with Europa, we have placed NASA in charge of the project, thus insuring that your admonition will be heeded for the foreseeable future.

    Yours truly,
    The people of Earth

    P.S. Sit back and enjoy the occasional fireworks display in low Earth orbit or between Earth and Mars.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  6. Re:Way Too Late by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why? The nursing home should have a TV. Just ask the nice nurses to switch to the NASA channel.

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    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!