Article in this week's New Scientist. Looks like whatever's below the ice may not be water at all, rather a cocktail of acids possibly near pH 0

Scientifically interesting for sure, but I can't help but feel deflated over the reduced possibility of life

So what do BABBers think? Are you still optimistic of finding life, or will we have to look elsewhere in the solar system?

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Note to Europa lander design team - Teflon!

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Alka-Seltzer!

And don't worry about the life, it'll just be the kind with acid for blood. And razor sharp teeth and all that.

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Unfortunately, we're down to about 17 ounces of the highly unstable stuff that does.

OMG, didn't the aliens in Alien have acid blood?

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Seems we'll have to forge an allegience with the Predator species!

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Interesting summary. Actually goes back and forth - water ice with acid dusting from radiation on the surface - or - acid ocean moves up through the cracks and freezes.

"I don't think we're going to have a definite answer until we get back with better spectrometers, better resolution, and maybe a lander." - Tom McCord - Planetary Science Institute, Winthrop, Washington State

Another reason to look forward to the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, launching in 2012. :-?

Wow! An ocean full of competing comics! #-o

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If you take a weak solution of acid then evaporate the water, you will get a stronger acid. The water coming up from the cracks should be relatively warm and therefore will evaporates quickly. I would imagine that if there is life on Europa it will be on the boundary between ice crust and the ocean. Ice floats in water and pure water has highest melting point, therefore it could be possible to have dense "forests" of ice where the bottom of ice contacts the ocean. And this should not only give boundary of a possible heat difference but also boundary of stronger to weaker acid and salt content.

This doesn't mean there can't be life there, however. There are plenty of strands of bacteria that can not only live in PH 0 environments, but thrive in them. Just means any complexe organisms that might be there won't resemble life here on Earth, which is pretty much the reason we're out there looking for it in the first place, isn't it?

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Mind you:

1) This is a preliminary result. Take it with an ocean of salt.

2) The acid/peroxide may only be on the surface. One researcher pointed out it appears more near where there are cracks, meaning it might have seeped up, but the spectroscopic results are only of a small part of Europa's surface.

Does anyone know how extremophiles evolved on Earth? Did life start in those environments, or did it have to come from milder ones?

I don't know what to think right now about our prospects for finding life on Europa.

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I'm still in high school (read: low school). Please translate science stuff.

That's a million dollar question, and I don't think we know. If I remember correctly, the leading theory for a long time was started with mild and evolved to harsh. But I think that the mid-ocean vent system have changed peoples opinions and a lot think that such systems may have been where life started. Not quite pH 0, but pretty harsh conditions (close to boiling water, high metal and sulfur content). Its a fine edge: you want a lot of energy and chemical for life to start, but too harsh and you kill it off.

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"Does anyone know how extremophiles evolved on Earth? Did life start in those environments, or did it have to come from milder ones? "

No one knows how any life on Earth evolved, though it's likely extremophiles were first. The early conditions on Earth was CO2 atmosphere, and constant bombardment by big impactors, with volcanos roaring all over the place-and since the Sun was dimmer back then, whenever there was a longer periods between the larger impactors boiling the ocean- the place probably froze solid- not very mild.