NASA wonders about life on Jupiter’s moon, Europa

NASA thinks there may be alien life on one of Jupiter’s small, icy moons, and scientists are planning a major mission to test the idea.

NASA thinks there may be life on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

Officials at NASA have asked scientists to consider how a potential mission to Jupiter’s small icy moon could search for signs of alien life, reports Space.com.

“This is our chance” NASA science chief John Grunsfeld said at a workshop at the Ames Research Centre in California on Wednesday. “I just hope we don’t miss this opportunity for lack of ideas.”

The Europa mission has been in the works for years, but received a boost earlier this month when the White House allocated $US30 million in funding for the project.

Under the $2.1 billion plan, NASA would search plumes of water vapour that are believed to blast from the moon’s south polar region, possibly allowing scientists to sample the liquid beneath Europa’s frozen surface.

Life on Europa? ... this NASA image shows a body of water under the icy surface of the distant moon. Picture: NASA

Mr Grunsfeld urged workshop attendees to “think outside the box” and come up with feasible ways to study the vapour, which could contain signs of life.

However, it will be some time before any results are known. The earliest any spacecraft could blast off for Europa is 2022, and it wouldn’t arrive for another eight years, Mr Grunsfeld said.