Please don't hesitate to chastise me for how late this is:
Also: I wanted to mention another bit of news in the video, but I had already made a YouTube clip for it. Check this out:
No sooner does Discovery Space put up a Wide Angle pondering a mission to Jupiter's ice-encrusted Europa, then the U.S. and European space agencies say,
"Baby, you're as cold as ice -- and covered in ice -- but we're going to fly out 780 million miles to meet you."
I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.
Check out the European Space Agency's (ESA) release here, and NASA's release here (Emily Lackdawalla of the Planetary Society Blog seems to have put the first post up about this, so a hat tip to her).
Now, Europa did have some stiff (or should I say muddy?) competition: Saturn's chilly moon Titan. Scientists put up a fight for robotic visitation rights, and they still won -- Titan is on the roadmap for a future mission.
I think the reason Titan came in at #2 is because we already dropped a probe onto its soupy, organic surface -- the Huygens probe, for all of you non-space nerds -- which is why I think it's high-time we give Europa a peek.
Looking for background? Roll through this package we put together for you last week:
Regulars 'round these parts should now know the drill for these Discovery Space preview videos. If not, here's the deal:
What you do after that is up to you, but if it involves making fun of me, then you can join the healthy crowd on YouTube. They have many sticks with pointy ends to jab me.
That being said, entertain thyself -- and don't miss the extra goodies after the jump:
Dr Ian O'Neill produces Discovery Space for the Discovery Channel. He is a solar physicist, but loves to write about manned space exploration and exposing the myths behind bad science. He can also be found ranting about space on Astroengine.com.
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