Europa Jupiter System Mission Deserving Of Support

The "next big thing" in the robotic space exploration program is the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM), a proposed joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency intended to explore the moons of Jupiter. The mission would involve two robotic spacecraft, an American probe that will orbit Europa and a European probe which will orbit Ganymede. Both of these worlds are of a particular interest because they either certainly (Europa) or very likely (Ganymede) contain a layer of liquid water beneath their surface.

The existence of liquid water on these two worlds raises the intriguing possibility that that might serve as a habitat for alien lifeforms. The search for extraterrestrial life is one of the most fascinating pursuits of modern science. Ganymede has also been discussed as a possible target for human colonization in the far future.

Global Citizens support space exploration in general, but a particular aspect of this mission that should appeal to Global Citizens is its international character. In addition to the cooperation being America and Europe, there is the possibility that the Japanese space agency may participate in the project as well, contributing a spacecraft that would orbit Jupiter itself. Russia, too, has expressed interest, and is considering designing a probe that would actually touch down on Europa. Space exploration is not only good for its own sake, but builds understanding and good will between nations, thereby helping to reduce tensions.

In an age of immense budget pressure, it is difficult to find sufficient funding for ambitious space exploratory missions. Global Citizens obviously strongly support sound fiscal discipline, but this could better be achieved by a significant draw down in the American defense budget and a shrinking of the bloated goverment bureaucracies in both Europe and America. Projects like this, which advance the knowledge of the entire human race and cannot be done without the support of government, are things which should be protected.

The EJSM mission is still in the design phase and is not scheduled to launch until around 2020. Between now and then, there will be many efforts by misguided politicians and government bureaucrats to kill the mission, so it's important for American and European citizens to make plain to their legislative representatives that they support the EJSM mission.