NASA Shifts from Mars to Europa: An Ocean-World Mission with Flybys and a Possible 2031 Lander to Seek Life in the Ice
To the point
NASA is shifting its focus from Mars to icy ocean worlds like Europa, planning missions to probe a hidden ancient ocean and search for sparse, potentially chemosynthetic life in subsurface ice, a move supported by James Green and researchers such as Kevin Hand and Tori Hoehler but tempered by funding uncertainties highlighted by Jonathan Lunine.