Expedition

The thought that alien fishes, sharks and squids could be chasing each other in the pitch black waters of Jupiter’s moon Europa has astrobiologists like Steve Vance itching to get a good look below the ice.

This series follows an oceanographic expedition to the Mid-Cayman Rise and NASA’s efforts to plan a future mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. In part five, scientists use high-tech submersibles to explore the seafloor and bring intriguing samples up to the surface.

When the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft visited Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa, scientists were faced with the exciting possibility that these strange worlds might host exotic forms of life.

The chemosynthetic life that thrives at hydrothermal vents might give us clues to how life arose in the first place. They also might be the same sort of life that could possibly exist on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.

As his mission comes to an end, Expedition 31 crew member, Don Pettit, reflects on the view of Earth and beyond from the International Space Station.

Before 1977, textbooks claimed that to sustain a living ecosystem, you needed energy from the Sun. Then the deep sea submersible Alvin discovered life teeming at hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. This led scientists to wonder if similar life could be found on Europa.

Don Pettit, member of the Expedition 31 crew, continues his documentation of life on the space station. In this installment, he talks about how astronauts maintain their health and the etiquette of a dinner with friends in microgravity.

This series follows an oceanographic expedition to the Mid-Cayman Rise, and NASA’s efforts to plan a future mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

Don Pettit, member of the Expedition 31 crew, continues to document the life of a zucchini grown in orbit on the International Space Station. Studying how plants grow in space can help astrobiologists understand how Earth life adapts to the space environment.

Astronaut Don Pettit continues his diary from Expedition 31 on the International Space Station. In this installment he talks about how astronauts spend their time on the ISS - from performing experiments to simply trying to stay alive.