Europa May Harbor Simple Lifeforms

May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that. This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential. In this short video, a scientist is stating his case as to why there may be simple lifeforms on Europa based on samples collected by different satellites and probes. His theory is also based on the fact Europa has been around for billions of years; a timeframe which would give life time to develop.

Check out the video and tell me what you think, ATS.

www.space.com...

originally posted by: lostbook
May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that. This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential. In this short video, a scientist is stating his case as to why there may be simple lifeforms on Europa based on samples collected by different satellites and probes. His theory is also based on the fact Europa has been around for billions of years; a timeframe which would give life time to develop.

Check out the video and tell me what you think, ATS.

www.space.com...

tried to embed

originally posted by: lostbook
May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that. This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential. In this short video, a scientist is stating his case as to why there may be simple lifeforms on Europa based on samples collected by different satellites and probes. His theory is also based on the fact Europa has been around for billions of years; a timeframe which would give life time to develop.

Well with the way we explore our cosmos are you even surprised? We have hundreds of billions of people on this planet and we don't fully understand everything about it. Do you think we could ever hope to come to the same knowledge level about extra-planetary bodies by just sending a satellite to fly by and take pictures of it or look at them through telescopes?

yeah I agree, if they don`t know then they shouldn`t say anything until they do know for sure.
all scientist now seem to just want to get published and want attention even if they have to publish speculation to do it.
you don`t need to be a scientist to speculate about things even non scientist can do it.

Did Einstein say " E possible, potentially, could, maybe,supposedly,hopefully = MC squared"
no, he said it loud and proud.

a reply to: Tardacus

A big part of being a scientist is getting funded, hyping your reserch is a part of it

I don't think there's such a think as simple life forms.

a reply to: lostbook

Let's say you're 500 miles away from me. You are able to send a RC car with a few things on it, like a camera.

You take a picture of my house.

From the picture you can deduce some things: Kind of house I live in, satellite dish indicates satellite TV, lights on at night indicate electrical usage.

But can you tell if I'm in the house? No. You can't.

You can say that it's possible someone lives in that house, that based upon the size of the house, it maybe safe to assume the number of people living there.

If I never come out of the house and say "Hi." to your camera, that's all you have right now: theories, speculation and some good guesses.

Now: you personally travel to my house and knock on the door. I answer, and your theories become fact, because you were able to verify it.

A very simple analogy, but shows you want is going on: Science is not going to declare something as fact prior to being able to prove it is so.

There is a good possibility that Europa MIGHT have life beneath it's ice covered surface. Scientist can be HOPEFUL that future exploration MIGHT reveal something.

Right now all we have are pictures of Europa. We need to send someone, or something to knock on the door.

Until we do, all we have are: "May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully..... "

I really don't think people understand how science works. It deals in probabilities: how likely is it that my explanation for something is correct?

If you want to get your theories out there, you publish. If you want to make progress as a scientist, you publish. If you want to attract funding, you publish. You don't advance your career or get funding or even get published at all by trying to publish crap. It has to be properly constructed research that any of your peers can reproduce if they do the same as you did, and your conclusions have to be reasonable ones based on the data you have collected and analysed.

So, based on many different types of observations and data and analyses over many decades the theory is that Europa might harbour life - not just because it has been around a long time, but because it has features that favour its development. This is not a new theory and it's not the guy in the video's theory. He is summarising the current understanding of Europa and why it would be interesting to go have a more detailed look.

www.planetary.org...

a reply to: lostbook


I hope that before I'm fertilizing daises that they find something, anything!

In the meantime, I'll be guardedly optimistic. Just too many planets, too many star systems and Billions of years in favor of life elsewhere.

originally posted by: lostbook
May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that. This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential.
www.space.com...

We say potential because that's what it is until we know one way or the other.

Want to know one way or the other?

Then support this: www.penny4nasa.org...

originally posted by: Tardacus
yeah I agree, if they don`t know then they shouldn`t say anything until they do know for sure.

Educating the average person as to the possibilities of life in our Solar System is necessary apparently. You just proved it.

originally posted by: JadeStar

originally posted by: lostbook
May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that. This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential.
www.space.com...

We say potential because that's what it is until we know one way or the other.

Want to know one way or the other?

Then support this: www.penny4nasa.org...

You gotta admit, Jade, that the Spaceflight program became a ghost after the end of the Cold-War and is now a shadow of its former self. As a true Space enthusiast don't you want to just get to the Stars? I know I do. This news only furthers my frustration because the best way to confirm life is to go there and look. Enceladus is another Moon I'm REALLY REALLY interested in in the hunt for life.

I know the main reason for our slow progress in this arena is corporate interests, lobby groups, and maybe even political interests which hold things back.

I get your point however.........stop complaining AND TAKE ACTION! So, I will participate in the "Penny for NASA program."

Thx, Jade

Additionally, about the Space program is that things are getting interesting again and missions are getting more "play" in the media. Private Spaceflight is on the horizon, Spaceport America is being built, PayPal is looking to set up a Space economy, Rovers on Mars, MSL coming soon, MarsOne looking to set up a Mars colony, the Juno Mission, and a string of other missions which I'm sure you're already aware of.

So, things are looking up....I will admit that...

I totally read your subject line as 'Europe May Harbor Simple LIfeforms', and I thought to myself, crikey, that's a bit optimistic isn't it?

originally posted by: Tardacus
yeah I agree, if they don`t know then they shouldn`t say anything until they do know for sure.
all scientist now seem to just want to get published and want attention even if they have to publish speculation to do it.
you don`t need to be a scientist to speculate about things even non scientist can do it.

Did Einstein say " E possible, potentially, could, maybe,supposedly,hopefully = MC squared"
no, he said it loud and proud.

You might want to do a little light reading. General Relativity was published in 1915 but wasn't actually proven until 1959, after Einstein was already dead. This is exactly how most science works. You build a model on the initial data and then set out to prove the model and data correct. This is precisely what is happening with potential Europa missions. When dealing with the intricacies of stellar bodies, there ar just so,e things that can't be understood from the confines of Earth, hidden beneath her atmosphere.

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: lostbook


I hope that before I'm fertilizing daises that they find something, anything!

In the meantime, I'll be guardedly optimistic. Just too many planets, too many star systems and Billions of years in favor of life elsewhere.

I know what you mean, Slayer. If it's at all re-assuring, I once heard from an Ouija board that there is life on Encelladus; they're Dolphin like creatures in the ocean there....But it's information from an Ouija board so take it with a grain of salt.

The fact that we know enough about Europa to be able to say that life may exist there, is already a great discovery. Let's not belittle science and the scientific method.

Science would be a dead and boring pace if they weren't allowed to say anything unless they had undeniable proof of everything.

originally posted by: lostbook
May, Might, Possibly, Could-be, Hopefully.....


All modern science ever says these days concerning Space Exploration, it seems, is potential. The potential to do this or the potential to do that.

Well, that's exactly what science is (or at least that's the scientific method).

In the scientific method, you first state a hypothesis (which, by definition is only a "potential" or a "might be"), and then you set about to test that hypothesis by finding experimental or empirical data that supports that hypothesis. Sometimes you find data that disproves a hypothesis, which is still very good for science (although you may be a little pissed if it was your hypothesis).

The hypothesis in this case is "Do Europa's oceans support life". The next step is to test that idea (at that has been ongoing).

This news gives me hope that what's being said is about more than just potential....

This news doesn't really seem much different -- it's a scientist with a hypothesis that needs to be tested.

He isn't saying "there is life on Europa". He is saying "Europa looks like a good candidate for harboring life". Sure -- we have experimental data and empirical evidence supporting that Europa has an ocean that seems to be the type that could harbor life, but that's not the same as stating that there is life on Europa.



I think Europa is a good candidate to search for life -- if for not other reason, then simply because of its ocean. However, I personally think we have more evidence supporting the potential for life on Titan.

For example, there is this article from NASA about a bit of a mystery as to why there is an imbalance of Acetylene on Titan. There are potentially some answers to the mystery that don't require life processes, but the possibility still exists that there is some life form eating the Acetylene:

What is Consuming Hydrogen and Acetylene on Titan?