NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced Monday that NASA is now selecting projects for a space probe that will journey to Jupiter's moon, Europa.

Europa is about 390 million miles from Earth and is made of icy rock. Scientists believe a massive ocean is hidden beneath its icy surface.

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This ocean is so vast and massive scientists presume that Europa contains as much as two or even three times the amount of liquid water on Earth.

Since there's a lot of liquid water on Europa, this gives the moon great potential for microbial life.

Europa is 1,900 miles in diameter, which is somewhat smaller that our own Moon. It's also criss-crossed by mysterious brown veins running along its surface. Scientists believe this feature indicates Europa's crust cracked open. Warmer and dirtier water that accumulated and froze over time caused the brown streaks.

Jupiter has an undeniable powerful gravitational force on the small moon that produces tidal waves on it, making its surface stretch which is comparable how the Moon's gravity affect the Earth's oceans, producing tides. This phenomenon makes Europa's crust crack as water seeps beneath the surface.

NASA astrobiologist Kevin Hand says Jupiter has an even greater effect on Europa. Scientists believe liquid water on the moon causes the tidal movements that flex Europa up and down. This tidal energy transforms into friction and heat that keeps liquid water under its icy shell.

A relatively new feature on Europa called Pywll is an impact crater considered solid evidence of a colossal ocean flowing beneath the surface. Scientists believe that when the impact occurred, it splattered fresh and fine water ice particles across Europa. These water particles now appear as bright white arms pock marking the moon's face near the darker crater.

NASA's Galileo spacecraft was the only probe to fly-by Europa more than once. It took photos of this crater measuring about 16 miles in diameter.

To date, President Barack Obama proposed an US$18.5 billion budget for NASA that will hopefully get this Jupiter space mission going.

TagsNASA Will Send Spacecraft to Explore Jupiter's Mysterious Moon Europa, NASA, Jupiter, Europa, NASA space mission jupiter moon europa, jupiter moon europa