'The Scientist' Discusses Europa Clipper with James Holden

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James Holden, professor and department head of the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Microbiology, was recently quoted in an article in The Scientist on NASA's Europa Clipper mission. This space voyage is aimed at characterizing Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons and a prime location in our solar system for the potential discovery of life, due to its subsurface ocean, geological activity, and the presence of chemical ingredients essential for life. Though not directly affiliated with the Europa Clipper mission, Holden spoke to its significance:

“What we see on Earth is that anytime water and hot rock come into contact with one another, it’s capable of supporting life without sunlight and without oxygen...Reflectance spectroscopy is really incredibly powerful in that it helps to identify different compounds. Maybe it’ll identify salts. Maybe it’ll identify even organic compounds. And so having the ability to take a closer look at what’s actually trapped on the surface of Europa would be incredibly valuable.”

— James Holden speaking with The Scientist

Click here to read the article in The Scientist.