Sec. 506. EUROPA

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## SEC. 506 EUROPA ###

(a)Findings Congress makes the following findings: ####

(1)Studies of Europa, Jupiter’s moon, indicate that Europa may provide a habitable environment, as it contains key ingredients known to support life. ####

(2)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. ####

(3)For decades, the Europa mission has consistently ranked as a high priority mission for the scientific community. ####

(4)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. ###

(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####

(1)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 ####

(2)a scientific, robotic exploration mission to Europa, as prioritized in both Planetary Science Decadal Surveys, should be supported.