There is set to be an announcement by NASA regarding Jupiter’s moon Europa at 18 GMT on the 26th of September, 2016. NASA has said that the announcement is going to be detailing the public about surprising new discoveries regarding Europa’s sub-surface ocean. NASA, cheekily, has put a damper on prospects of confirming alien life, saying in a tweet: “spoiler: NOT aliens”.
Europa is an interesting object for scientists, mainly because of its tremendous possibility of hosting alien life under its surface. Ever since the Voyager probes flew by Jupiter in the 70s, Europa has been intriguing celestial object whose sub-surface may hold alien life. This is not just mere speculation; there are clear evidences of a sub-surface ocean, including the groove marks on the surface of Europa. Furthermore, the icy nature of its crust suggests that there might be liquid water underneath the surface.
So far in the history of human civilization, we have not yet unearthed concrete evidence that could count as proof of the existence of extra-terrestrial life. However, it is a widely held belief in the scientific community that life is abundant in the universe. This was summarized by the development of the Drake equation, which predicts thousands of intelligent civilizations within our galaxy. However, I re-iterate, we have not yet found alien life.
Thus, although the announcement is sure to throw up a surprise or two about the moon Europa, an announcement of the discovery of alien life will not be made, at least in the foreseeable future.
Europa is an interesting object for scientists, mainly because of its tremendous possibility of hosting alien life under its surface. Ever since the Voyager probes flew by Jupiter in the 70s, Europa has been intriguing celestial object whose sub-surface may hold alien life. This is not just mere speculation; there are clear evidences of a sub-surface ocean, including the groove marks on the surface of Europa. Furthermore, the icy nature of its crust suggests that there might be liquid water underneath the surface.
So far in the history of human civilization, we have not yet unearthed concrete evidence that could count as proof of the existence of extra-terrestrial life. However, it is a widely held belief in the scientific community that life is abundant in the universe. This was summarized by the development of the Drake equation, which predicts thousands of intelligent civilizations within our galaxy. However, I re-iterate, we have not yet found alien life.
Thus, although the announcement is sure to throw up a surprise or two about the moon Europa, an announcement of the discovery of alien life will not be made, at least in the foreseeable future.
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| Europa’s surface contains a myriad of cracks and crevices |
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