Europa is our best hope for finding life

NASA predicts the most likely place we'll find ET is not the Red Planet but an icy jovian moon

Scientists at NASA have stated that jupiter’s moon Europa offers the best chance of finding life in our Solar System. The announcement flies in the face of decades of theorizing Mars would be the best chance of finding evidence of life, with NASA highlighting the Red Planet's desert plains and harsh environment make it improbable life exists there.

In contrast, NASA scientists indicate that Europa's subsurface ocean, thin shelf of surface ice and presence of oxidants in the atmosphere make it a far more likely breeding ground for alien organisms.

Speaking on the announcement, Robert Pappalardo a planetary scientist at the jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said: “Europa is the most promising in terms of habitability. It is the place we should be exploring now that we have a concept mission we think is the right one to get there for an affordable cost.” NASA hopes an unmanned mission to Europa could launch as early as 2021, with the probe reaching the moon by 2027.

Source: NASA