http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/08/nasa-ponders-life-seeking-mission-to-europa-moon/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20130810ngnw-jupitex&utm_campaign=Content A new paper by leading planetary researchers released this week in the journal Astrobiology details plans for a possible lander being launched sometime in the next decade. The vehicle would boast a drill and microscope camera, similar to instruments aboard Mars Curiosity and Cassini
Been waiting for news on this for a long time. Its so cool that the public is actually getting word of this happening now. We could very well find some sort of 'life' there weather it be some kind of water based creature or bacteria around the heat vents at the bottom of the very large body of water we believe is there. Last I heard, they were going to land a a sort of bowl shaped probe that was going to heat a plate that covered the bottom to extremely high temperatures and melt through it until they reach the water below. Pretty cool stuff.
I landed on Europa once, it was in a simulator mind you... Almost busted my nose when it hit the ground. But yeah I didn't see any little green men or anything. I would love to find out what's going on under the surface though. I read somewhere that the water underneath the surface ice is probably warm enough to support life. Apparently they worked this out because they spotted cracks in the ice similar to the plate tectonics on earth which would mean that there are currents under the surface. Also they think its probably been warmed up by the gravitational stresses applied by Jupiters other moons, which I think is pretty cool. Just gotta hope they've had a regular orbit long enough for life to have formed.