It could be at least 15 years before NASA lands a mission on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, to search for signs of life beneath its icy crust. In the mean time, a team led by astrobiologist Kevin Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is using ultra-chilled vacuum chambers to simulate what Europa’s surface might be like. Their work will inform future missions and give scientists clues to how they might detect life on a faraway moon.
Credits
Produced by Luke Groskin
Filmed by Christian Baker
Music by Audio Network
Additional Video by
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Caltech, Kevin Hand and Robert Carlson
Shutterstock, Sergio Martinez (C.C. BY 3.0)
Scratchikken (C.C. BY 3.0)
Special Thanks to
Chau Tu and Preston Dyches
Meet the Producer
About Luke Groskin
@lgroskinLuke Groskin is Science Friday’s video producer. He’s on a mission to make you love spiders and other odd creatures.