A few weeks ago I was asked to talk on the evening radio news about the firing of a penetrator into a large block of ice in Pendine, West Wales, which I did not know about until the BBC called me.
The basic idea of the test was to determine some important parameters for the hoped-for one day penetration of the ice sheet of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Europa, one of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, is thought to be one of the most likely places in our Solar System to be supporting life. This is because we know that, below a sheet of ice, there is a liquid ocean. As water is synonymous with life in our Earth-centric view of what is necessary for life, Europa is at the top of most likely places to find extra-terrestrial life.
hello there, waht is this we have here
.
NASA proposal.
{I’m Professor Jonathan Vos Post, formerly systems and software engineer on Galileo to Jupiter, then Mission Planning Engineer on the Voyager flyby of Uranus}
Thank you for that Jonathan. As I am sure you will agree, there have been so many proposed NASA missions to Europa, most of which have been axed, that it is very difficult to keep up with the latest status.
I’ve had a look at the slides. What is the status of that proposal? I read that JUICE is now a proposed ESA mission, albeit a long way off. But what about this penetrator proposal?
“Does it surprise you that, as of now, we don’t have any firm intention to explore Europa, given the potential scientific payback?”
No, it does not surprise me. Pray tell, what is that payback?
The potential of finding extra-terrestrial life……
Potential? We already know that life is throughout the cosmos. I theoretically proved that.
So what are we looking for if we already know?
Did you? Interesting. Do you have a link to your proof?
http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/2/1/1
If you’re willing to consider unconventional thinking and an incommensurable worldview, the proof is there – axiomatically constrained, trans-disciplinary, and empirically consistent.
But if you prefer conventional wisdom, then I’m just a crackpot.
Best wishes,
Erik
I shall have a look at it. So your “proof” hasn’t been accepted in a peer-reviewed journal?
No, it underwent rigorous peer review just like every paper I’ve ever submitted.
It’s just that the paper was controversial and raised the ire of many in the origins community. Although I have met many colleagues who have mocked, condemned, and rejected the theoretical proof, I still have yet to find a colleague that has refuted the proof.
I’ll read it in detail before the end of the week. But I’m an astrophysicist so don’t know the first thing about biology. How I have three children is still a mystery to me……
Now I know I’m chatting with someone with a good sense of humor. As a father of three myself (11, 7, and 5), I live that mystery – especially when my kids push me and my wife to the breaking point. Peace, bro.
The Welsh have to have a sense of humour. We’ve had to put up with the English for the last 1400 years…..
(Snicker). Nice chatting, thanks for the laugh.
🙂