Europa

A reminder about the (now canceled) Europa Orbiter mission.

The primary idea was to search for water, despite what happens in the movie 2010.

Ideas for techniques to look for water include these:

  • Radar sounding to measure the thickness of the ice (problem: what if the ice is really thick, but with water underneath?)

  • Laser altimeter to measure the tidal bulge (problem: unique solution? maybe, maybe not)

  • Also suggested: submarine probe (problem: what if there's no ocean? Also, how do you power this submarine?)

    http://www.heise.de/tp/deutsch/special/robo/11449/1.html

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