Ann House wrote:
Is an ice probe possible that can cut through perhaps miles of ice on Europa?
Hi, The two methods I've seen proposed are an impacting explosive spike and a melter. Using the first an orbiter would first locate a fissure or thin spot in the ice and then fire an explosive wedge to ram and blow a hole in the ice through which an instrumented lander could then descend. The other (and the one that seems to have the most promise) would be a lander who's exterior would be heated by a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator) that would also power the craft. The heated craft would then melt its way through the ice, paying out an antenna cable on the way down. The hole would probably freeze over but the antenna would remain on the surface so the lander could still communicate with an orbiting mother craft or direct to Earth. Patrick -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah http://www.trilobyte.net/paw/ paw@trilobyte.net 435.882.1209