NASA's recent Jupiter focus may lead to an astounding discovery that may trump Mars as being the next human colony base. NASA reports indicate that Jupiter's moon, Europa, may be able to sustain human life. Now, the space technology company is looking into creating blue prints for a future flyby and a possible moon landing.

The initial findings by NASA on Jupiter's moon features a potential lander. They are excited about engaging to a broader discussion about the findings, as reported by Digital Trends. NASA has already asked 21 scientists to work on plans for a lander that can successfully arrive in Europa. It is not yet clear if such mission is possible with the weather and terrain on the moon.

But NASA wants to look into another perspective when it comes to Jupiter's moon. They are eager to find evidence of life. Scientists believe that there is a saltwater ocean and a silicate floor that can sustain life.

NASA wants to make sure its missions are well planned. According to James Kasting, the professor of geo-sciences at Penn State University says that NASA was heavily criticized for wanting to find life before investigating the planet. He points to the Viking mission from the 1970s. The results from the mission provided a false positive on the evidence of life.

Kasting says that NASA is hoping to avoid a similar problem when it comes to Jupiter's Europa, as reported by Daily Galaxy. Kasting is meeting with other experts to talk about the different challenges that will be encountered. They want to look at the possibilities of an interstellar travel that will allow a lander to visit a planet, get samples (liquid and solid) and analyze for Earth-like life. Like the mission to Mars, this may take years.

This CNN news clip shows that astronomers may have spotted water vapor plumes erupting on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa:

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Tags Nasa, Science, Space, Technology, Jupiter, Europa