Europa
The smallest of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, Europa is a tantalizing target for planetary scientists and astrobiologists. Europa is covered in ice, underneath which is a global water ocean. Because life as we know it only exists with the presence of water, Europa is a prime candidate to investigate for extraterrestrial life.
Other elements of the moon are inhospitable, though—namely radiation from Jupiter, which as Gizmodo earlier reported could erase any signs of life we’d see from afar. That makes the prospect of landing spacecraft on Europa all the more enticing; it’s easier to see life from up close.
