NASA Appointed Team Set Out Priorities For a Europa Surface Mission

astroengine writes "Europa has only been seen from afar, but its aura of intrigue has inspired scientists to study ideas as to how to explore the icy Jovian moon. In a new study published in the journal Astrobiology [paper], a NASA-appointed science definition team lays out the rich tapestry of discovery facing any mission to study Europa, but what questions do we need answering? 'If one day humans send a robotic lander to the surface of Europa, we need to know what to look for and what tools it should carry,' said Robert Pappalardo, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the study's lead author. 'There is still a lot of preparation that is needed before we could land on Europa, but studies like these will help us focus on the technologies required to get us there, and on the data needed to help us scout out possible landing locations. Europa is the most likely place in our solar system beyond Earth to have life today, and a landed mission would be the best way to search for signs of life.'"

Comments

Re:Search for life

[buchner.johannes]

Result 2: Microbial Monitoring and Disinfection aboard NASA Spacecraft... sounds promising, but it's paywalled. For $17.50 though I might be able to get access to a dense academic tomb. Thanks, Google!

I put the name into Scholar, and found a (free) PDF by the same author, 5 years later than that article.
It is comparing bacterial and fungal contamination of ISS, Mir and Shuttle missions.

Perhaps you are searching with the wrong keywords. Try "sterilization of spacecraft".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_protection