Last February, NASA announced that it was investing in a $2 billion mission to Europa — a tiny moon of Jupiter that is one of the most likely places for life beyond Earth.
Their spacecraft, called the Europa Multi-Flyby Mission, would orbit Jupiter taking frequent passes by Europa for a close look at its surface.
What NASA didn't mention at the time was any plan to land on it. But in a recent conversation with Texas Republican John Culberson, Ars Technica's Senior Space Editor Eric Berger reported that one such plan was in motion.
Setting a lander down on Europa could offer an unprecedented look at the composition of the ice on the surface, but more importantly, it could study molecules in the global liquid ocean (shown below) where life could exist.
Why would such a mission be a "secret?" To read more, click here.