Sec. 506. Europa
172 words·~1 min read·
/bill/114/s/3346/is/section-506A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: Studies of Europa, Jupiter's moon, indicate that Europa may provide a habitable environment, as it contains key ingredients known to support life on Earth, including liquid water, heat, chemistry, and time. In 2012, using the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA scientists observed water vapor around the south polar region of Europa, which provides potential evidence of water plumes in that region. For decades, the Europa mission has consistently ranked as a high priority mission for the scientific community.
The Europa mission was ranked as the top priority mission in the previous Planetary Science Decadal Survey and ranked as the second-highest priority in the current Planetary Science Decadal Survey. It is the sense of Congress that— the Europa mission could provide another avenue in which to capitalize on our Nation’s current investment in the Space Launch System that would significantly reduce the transit time for such a deep space mission; and a scientific, robotic exploration mission to Europa, as prioritized in both Planetary Science Decadal Surveys, should be supported.