New Evidence of life on Europa

GuanYin · 01-10-2003 6:57pm #1

It seems the sulphur traces on Europa match the type of "biogenic signature" scientists look for when searching for extraterrestial life.

The sulphur compounds, spotted by the Galileo space probe, look like bacterial waste products similar to those seen in the dry lakes of Antartica where the ice contains sulphur deposited by bacteria living in the water underneath.

Nuphor · 02-10-2003 2:17pm

Wow, interesting. Thanks for the post. Europa has always intrigued me. Hopefully NASA or the ESA have plans to send a probe. It seems relatively feasible that life could exist under the icey mantle near volcanic vents like what we have here on earth. There has to be quite an amount of core activity too...

daveg · 03-10-2003 7:13am

I'm afraid we will have to wait another 15 years before another probe will arrive at Jupiter. More info on this mission can be found here.

Nuphor · 03-10-2003 7:58am

15 years is an awfully long time. It's a shame that NASA's budget is so small in comparision with how it was during the Kennedy era. Not that there aren't more important matters, but, I dunno. It seems a shame is all.

bonkey · 03-10-2003 1:50pm

Originally posted by sykeirl
It seems the sulphur traces on Europa match the type of "biogenic signature" scientists look for when searching for extraterrestial life.

Is this why they crashed whaychyacallit into Jupiter itself rather than into Europa as (I believe) was originally planned?

jc

Nuphor · 03-10-2003 1:54pm

I believe I read somewhere that there was a chance Gaelianaosdoipoiodsoio (I can't spell

) wasn't entirely clean. Best not to land some earth bacteria on another planet...

GuanYin · 03-10-2003 2:01pm

Originally posted by bonkey
Is this why they crashed whaychyacallit into Jupiter itself rather than into Europa as (I believe) was originally planned?

jc

Yes, the fear was that any earth originating microbes on galileo would contaminate Europa and pose a threat to any organisms that may be alive there.

Could it be the first act of interplanetary diplomacy?

New Evidence of life on Europa

Comments