# All these worlds are yours except Europa. Attempt no landing there. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023 "2012-11-24T23:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/1 "2012-11-24T23:21:05Z")
The Jovian moon Europa is probably the most likely extra-terrestrial locations in our solar system to host life, based on Earth’s ‘extremophiles’, bacteria around volcanic vents and such. Given Europa’s status of ‘most likely to host life’, are there any special considerations NASA and other agencies make when it comes to its exploration? Are there any man-made objects to be found on its frozen surface, and just how likely are life-bearing oceans beneath the icy crust? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/2 "2012-11-24T23:51:55Z")
The Galileo space probe to Jupiter was [deliberately steered into the atmosphere of that planet](http://www.nasa.gov/news/mission/galileo_dies.html) at the end of its mission to make sure it didn’t crash onto Europa and potentially contaminate it. (The oribiter also gathered data on the way down.) ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/3 "2012-11-25T03:21:07Z")
Related note, the initial findings from drilling into Lake Vostok have not found any life yet, but I would have thought they wouldn’t find much until they get to the bottom layers of the lake, or even better the vicinity of a hydrothermal vent. > **[Antarctica’s Lake Vostok reveals no signs of life initially, Russians report](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/antarcticas-lake-vostok-reveals-no-signs-of-life-initially-russians-report/2012/10/29/d47960aa-1d19-11e2-b647-bb1668e64058_story.html)** > > Isolated from the rest of the planet for 14 million years, Lake Vostok may be the only body of water on Earth to contain no life whatsoever. However, if life is discovered, it will be a big boost for... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/4 "2012-11-25T05:16:52Z")
Nor has any mission yet landed on Europa, accidentally or deliberately. There are one or two missions in the planning stages, and there are extreme provisions in them to sterilize the crafts more thoroughly than anything has ever been sterilized before. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/5 "2012-11-25T05:49:37Z")
What’s the plan to break through the surface crust of ice? The most optimistic estimates seem to be tens of kilometers thick, so assuming there is indeed an ocean of liquid H2O beneath this, even if we melt through it, we’d need to tether to a top-side base, so the probe could broadcast data/images. That’s a lot of cable. Or is this sort of mission not even on the table right now? ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landing-there/642023/6 "2012-11-25T09:09:53Z")
the plan would be to use a nuclear RTG powered hybrid melter/drill that deployed a fibreoptic tether behind it. [http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/2855/drilling-down-to-alien-oceans](http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/2855/drilling-down-to-alien-oceans) But yeah considering they haven’t tried that with any of the sub-glacial Antarctic lakes yet I’d say its a LONG way off.