In article ,
stephen voss wrote:
Unmanned exploration should remain the domain of those
places human's can't manage: the outer planets, Jupiter's satellites
(especially Europa!), the Saturn system, Pluto etc.

A manned mission to Europa could be far more relevant than a manned
mission to mars...especially if there is an ocean underneath the ice.

Unfortunately, it's also vastly harder. Not only are the distances and
the delta-V requirements much larger, but Europa is deep in Jupiter's very
nasty Van Allen belts.

If there is a water source, that means humans can survive there for
extended periods...without as constant a stream of supplies.

Liquid water on (in) Europa may be many kilometers down. The only water
we know for sure is available on the surface is ice... and there's pretty
definitely ice just below the surface over large areas of Mars. It's not
obvious that Europa is really any better, even ignoring the considerations
noted above.
--
MOST launched 30 June; science observations running | Henry Spencer
since Oct; first surprises seen; papers pending. |