The giant planet Jupiter is one of the last places humans would ever look for life beyond Earth, but the planet’s enigmatic moon Europa is a different story entirely.
For 20 years, astrobiologists have been eyeing Europa as a potential hot spot for life.
“My modest thought about what kind of life might be at Europa involves the kinds of things that we see at heads of thermal vents [on Earth], mainly microorganisms,” Steve Vance, who is a member of the Europa mission science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Business Insider.
“But in my bolder moments … I wonder if Europa could have the kind of vigorous biosphere that Earth has that supports larger forms of life,” Vance said.
Larger forms being anything from small fish to modestly-sized octopi. What might these animals look like?
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