EXPLORING ICY MOONS New technology will study above and below surface ice. Skating on a frozen lake—with its ridges, stones, and cracks—can present challenges that skating on an indoor ice rink doesn’t. It’s possible to see and avoid most of those obstacles, no matter how large the lake; but imagine the difficulty and tools required to maneuver around slabs of ice as tall as mountains, cracks that are miles deep, and explosions of water from beneath your feet. Compared to ice on Earth, exploring ice-covered moons won’t be a skate in the park. NASA has learned a lot about the subzero-temperature moons Enceladus and Europa, where the agency wants to search for signs of life, among other observations. But a mission to either moon (they orbit Saturn and Jupiter, respectively) will take more preparation than tossing skates and a thermos of hot chocolate into the car. Just getting there is complicated (See Cosmic Neighborhood). Observations by robotic spacecraft have provided informatio...
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