Europa Lander Could be Greeted by Massive Ice Spikes

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has come into the spotlight as one of the likeliest places in the solar system to find Earth-like life. Scientists believe that beneath its icy shell lurks a liquid ocean, perhaps even one that’s relatively warm and hospitable to life. NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, currently with a launch date set for the 2020s, will investigate the moon further from orbit, but what researchers would really like is a lander to either touch down — or, ideally, go