Feature Planetary Science

The ice of a distant moon

Piercing Europa’s frigid shell to search for life below

Europa

CRACKING EUROPA'S SHELL  Beneath the icy layer cloaking Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, Europa, scientists believe a vast ocean and a geologically active seafloor could potentially hold habitats for life. Several groups have begun devising ways to burrow beneath Europa’s frozen surface.

JPL-Caltech/NASA

By Meghan Rosen

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