NASA selects Jupiter for next major mission

Cant wait to see this mission get under way,

I think they should focus more on Mars exploration since more issues are yet questionable about their discoveries. A concrete facts about our neighbor planet could be enough to satisfy some people's interest in other planets,

due in 2020's and will just MAP the surface ??? wtf, I thought by then we would at least send a probe under the ice surface...

due in 2020's and will just MAP the surface ??? wtf, I thought by then we would at least send a probe under the ice surface... I know, this is extremely disappointing! So many years, and they'll only map a surface 'so that they can come back later' in 20+ years really suck. This is where there's a higher chance of life, multi-celled life.

Launched in 2020, get to Jupiter in 2026, establish the best place to land the next time around so they can explore under the icy surface. Another 10-15 years later they might send a probe to try to find whats under the surface. They're surely taking their time. Maybe they aren't as smart as we think they are or, one for the "conspiracy theorists", they're afraid to find life on another planet.

I may not be around by that time

i think i'll be dead long before they get under the ice on europa...

For all those who have been waiting for answers from the icy moons, it is a shame the way they are dragging their feet. I know it really isn't NASA's fault with a restricted budget, but for those more advanced in years, it is a shame that some may never see what is under that ice.

Have a look at Ganymede here, http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profil...ct=Jup_Ganymede It takes thousands of people to make these missions happen including contractors from all over the country and also many many technical issues to deal with,, So sending missions to these moons and planets are not a simple stroll in the park, I too may not be around to see some of these results but i do know that mankind will in the long run conquer space and the solar system, It may take generations but good things are happening all the time as far as space exploration and understanding our local solar s... [More]

sending missions to these moons and planets are not a simple stroll in the park no it's not, and yet we somehow managed to send humans to the Moon 50 years ago with extremely low tech support in much shorter time... You would think that by now we could manage a mission like that a bit quicker... I know Jupiter is is no Moon and the distances involved are far greater but c'mon, it's been 50 years since then...