Nearly everything that astronomers know of Jupiter’s moon Europa has come from several close flybys from NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1979 and NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in the mid-to-late 1990s. These flybys revealed to astronomers an ice-covered world with enticing indications of a liquid water ocean under its surface. According to NASA, Europa is slightly smaller than the Earth’s Moon. Astronomers believe that, like the Earth, Europa has an iron core, a rocky mantle and a surface ocean of salty water. However, the ocean is deep enough to conceal the entire surface of Europa. The ocean surface is also globally frozen over, given its distance from the sun. According to NASA, this type of environment could possibly be the right conditions for microbial life.

Now, NASA is wondering what would happen if the space agency got the chance to land on moon and take a closer look at its fractured surface. A new study in the journal Astrobiology written by a NASA-supported science definition team examines exactly what questions would be given top priority if NASA landed a rover on Europa.

“If one day humans send a robotic lander to the surface of Europa, we need to know what to look for and what tools it should carry,” said lead author Robert Pappalardo at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “There is still a lot of preparation that is needed before we could land on Europa, but studies like these will help us focus on the technologies required to get us there, and on the data needed to help us scout out possible landing locations. Europa is the most likely place in our solar system beyond Earth to have life today, and a landed mission would be the best way to search for signs of life.”

Astronomers from numerous NASA centers and universities contributed to the study. The team reached the conclusion that the most pressing questions to ask focused on composition: for example, what makes up the reddish “freckles” and reddish cracks that taint the icy surface? Also, what kind of chemistry is taking place on the Europa? And, are there organic molecules on the moon? Organic molecules are part of the building the blocks of life.

Other important goals if NASA landed a rover on the surface of Europa would be to better the space agency’s photos of the moon. More specifically, the photos would offer a look at certain features on a human scale in order to offer context for the compositional determinations. NASA scientists also want to know more about the geological activity of Europa and the existence of liquid water: for example, how active is the surface? How much rumbling is there from the regular gravitational embraces from Jupiter. And, what does this information reveal about the features of liquid water below Europa’s icy surface?

“Landing on the surface of Europa would be a key step in the astrobiological investigation of that world,” said Chris McKay, a senior editor of the journal Astrobiology. “This paper outlines the science that could be done on such a lander. The hope would be that surface materials, possibly near the linear crack features, include biomarkers carried up from the ocean.”

According to NASA, Europa was discovered on January 8, 1610, by Galileo Galilei. The finding, along with several other moons, was the first time a moon was discovered circling a planet other than Earth. The discovery helped astronomers reach the conclusion that planets in our solar system orbit the sun, as opposed to our solar system revolving around Earth.

Do you think Europa has microbial life? Will NASA ever send a rover to Jupiter’s icy moon? What other questions would you have about Europa? Share your thoughts in the comments section.