Today NASA announced that they are planning a mission to Europa! Europa is one of the many satellites of Jupiter and according to the US space agency, is the best candidate for alien life! How exciting is that? "As one of Jupiter's 63 known satellites, Europa is only a little bit smaller than our own Moon, with a diameter of 3,120 km. But what makes it really compelling to astrobiologists is that, beneath its icy surface lies a huge, liquid ocean, completely covering its rocky core.As astronomer Phil Plait explained over at his Bad Astronomy blog on Slate in November last year, this water is estimated to be salty, and also around 100 km thick - up to 10 times deeper than Earth’s oceans. In fact, telescope observations and data on the moon, gathered by passing spacecraft, suggest that Europa may hold two to three times more liquid water than Earth.
And where there’s liquid water, there’s often life, which makes it a very tantalising place to explore." - ScienceAlert.com
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Julie and JenavieveA geeky mother and daughter working to bring science and art together. To get to know us better, check out our about page! Archives
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