Icy moon explorer gets glacial test

Abstract

While Mars has long been the darling of NASA's robotic exploration efforts, in December astronomers revealed the first evidence that Europa is venting plumes of vapor into space--probably fed by the seemingly life-friendly ocean humans think is present under the ice. Here, Grossman examines the glacial tests for the robotic explorer VALKYRIE, which could one day dive into the ocean thought to hide beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, looking for signs of life.