Curiosity is but an instinct for humans, well for most animals actually. We crave to explore the world, to know what exists, and how it will effect us. In 1564, a scientist named Galileo Galilei, was born in Italy. He would go on and revolutionize our perspective on the universe by introducing the heliocentric theory, that earth revolved around the sun (not the other way), and made many discoveries within the realm of astronomy. Fast-forward into the 20th century and we have a boom in our ability to explore the universe.
On this day March 2nd, in 1998, the Galileo Spacecraft reports that Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, has water beneath its icy surface. The spacecraft was sent into orbit on October 18, 1989, but it didn’t reach Jupiter until December 7, 1995. That’s a long road-trip.
The discovery of subsurface water, which is also believed to be salt water, indicates that life could potentially exist on Europa. Not life the way you’re imagining it. You may not see aliens swimming around with light bulbs attached to their heads, but there could be life as eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and other such organisms which we humans are believed to evolve from. Such discoveries have received major attention from the scientific community and many hope that probes will be sent to either confirm or dismiss this notion of extraterrestrial life.