--- title: NASA Mission to Jupiter's Moon Europa to Search For Life description: Scientists may soon head to the icy surface of Europa to search for evidence canonical: https://time.com/3717591/nasa-jupiter-moon-life/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-21T13:52:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:55.584Z article:section: Science og:title: NASA Thinks There May Be Life on Jupiter's Moon og:description: Scientists may soon head to the icy surface of Europa to search for evidence og:url: https://time.com/3717591/nasa-jupiter-moon-life/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a0855342225738a/698780615f570f90adb1565a/jupiter-europa-moon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Jupiter Europa moon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NASA Thinks There May Be Life on Jupiter's Moon twitter:description: Scientists may soon head to the icy surface of Europa to search for evidence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a0855342225738a/698780615f570f90adb1565a/jupiter-europa-moon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NASA Thinks There May Be Life on Jupiter's Moon > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b0cf1c4e-ce92-42ab-a1e0-a5bb02c5832a&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A One Way Ticket to Mars: Behind the Mars One Project [Watch (HLS stream): A One Way Ticket to Mars: Behind the Mars One Project](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Qod0g2We.m3u8) (5:00)  _Published 2013-06-02. A private space venture plans to beat NASA in getting people to the red planet by at least a decade. The catch? It's a one-way trip. Mars One will now take your application._ by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Feb 21, 2015 1:52 PM UTC by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Feb 21, 2015 1:52 PM UTC David Bowie once speculated about [life on Mars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ), and now NASA scientists are wondering the same thing about Jupiter’s moon Europa. A potential mission may soon be sending NASA scientists to the small, icy moon to search for signs of alien life, _Space.com_ [reports](http://www.space.com/28614-nasa-europa-mission-alien-life.html). NASA officials held a workshop Wednesday at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley to discuss the matter. “This is our chance,” said NASA science chief John Grunsfeld. “I just hope we don’t miss this opportunity for lack of ideas.” Specifically, scientists plan to search the plumes of water vapor, first spotted by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 2012, that blast from the moon’s south polar region. This will allow researchers to sample the liquid hidden beneath Europa’s icy surface. Plans for a Europa mission have been in the works for years, but NASA got closer to making it a reality when the White House [allocated $30 million ](http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-nasa-budget-europa-mars-proposal-white-house-20150203-story.html)for a Europa mission in its 2016 budget request. \[[_Space.com_](http://www.space.com/28614-nasa-europa-mission-alien-life.html)\] ## Transcript >> You'll never feel the winds in your hair. You will never hear the sound of walking through the snow. You won't hear the birds whistle outside. If you care a lot about these kinds of things, then you really shouldn't apply for a mission to Mars. I'm Bas Lansdorp. I'm the co- founder and CEO of Mars One and we're organizing a manned mission to Mars in the year 2023. >> Three-- >> Our requirements are very different-- >> One ,-- >> from those of the normal astronauts-- -[ unk ] space shuttle look- alikes. >> because they aren't going back home. >> Houston, now controlling-- >> And these people are going to stay there the rest of their lives. So, it's a one- way ticket, yes. -[ unk ] -[ unk ] >> I think when people hear about our project, at first, they are skeptical because ISU and NASA and the other space agencies are talking about doing this in decades. And now, there is a private organization that says they can do it in 10 years. I think if people look at our website, then I think that people are quickly convinced. >> Mars One has designed a mission that is much simpler than previous designs for Mars missions. >> Before the humans even leave from Earth, there's water and breathable air waiting for them. In 2022, the first group of four people will leave, landing in 2023, and every two years after that, we'll send an additional crew there. Our astronauts will be selected to cohabitate for the rest of their lives. They'll train for seven years, everything on how to repair anything that breaks, to take care of medical situations. They will know how to grow their own food. It's very likely impossible for them to ever return to earth because we don't have the technology to go back. Already, people are uploading their application movies to our website. >> I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do-- >> It's really fun to see people explaining why they want to leave everything they have here on Earth and start a new life on Mars. >> And can be patient and listen to us. >> Why would you leave your family, your friends? Some people also call it, you know, like social suicide. It's not because I dislike being here on Earth, but it's going to another planet and working for a new society on Mars. I like to travel around the world and see different things. -[ unk ] Maybe, Mars is the next step, you know. >> I've chosen this path. My father said, " Well, I don't understand it ," and my mother said-- she was a bit angry that I sent that e- mail. I think you only live once on this planet and why not choose for a life- changing experience. >> The total cost of getting the first four people on Mars will be about 6 billion US dollars and this is how we will finance it. We will have the world watch how humans fly to Mars, how they land on Mars, what life on Mars will be like. We want the world to elect the envoys of mankind to the next planet. The final vote will be given to the audience. >> Six billion dollars is a lot of money, but imagine what will happen when humans land on Mars. Everybody will be glued to their TV screens or to their tablet screens and will watch it happen. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, everybody watched. And imagine doing the same in this media era where everybody has a screen in their pocket. >> Now, I think that reality TV from Mars will be completely different than reality TV from Earth because reality TV from Mars is inherently interesting. Telling this story, the biggest adventure of mankind to the world, that will be our way of financing it. For me, it would really change the world. To imagine that we are sitting here, and at the same time, there's people on Mars, that's really something that would mean a step in the evolution of our species. >> That's one small step for man-- >> The US landing people on the moon gave that sense of achieving a common goal together. If you can put humans on Mars, it will give everyone in the world the feeling that you can do anything. 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