WI: The Bounty of Space

What would prospects for a probe sent to Europa after The Voyager missions?

Perhaps geared towards the search for life, a few more probes were sent to Europa or Mars, perhaps Titan.

And what would happen if the tests brought back more conclusive evidence of life on either three bodies?
 
Something fairly high on the planetary science wish list for the last 30 years; however:
A Europa probe, particularly if it included a lander (which would have to include an RTG power plant and therefore be quite large and heavy), would be extremely large, complex and expensive. Probably several times as much as Galileo. It would probably take the place of Cassini if launched. Since any life on Europa is under kilometers of ice (likely on the bottom of the ocean underneath), and the probe would mostly study just one object, it just wouldn't seem that good a bargain. So: possible but very costly (meaning many delays and redesigns), with the public likely thinking they didn't get their money's worth at the end.

Ways to get under the ice have been suggested, and might work, but they wouldn't be for the 20th century.
 
You can use a radioactive heat source to warm up the probe and melt through the ice.

If there was life under the ice wouldnt dropping a hot nuclear probe through the ice be kind of destructive. We have found evidence of life and heres the corpse to prove it. We could call the probe Dodo.
 
If there was life under the ice wouldnt dropping a hot nuclear probe through the ice be kind of destructive. We have found evidence of life and heres the corpse to prove it. We could call the probe Dodo.

I suppose, life there would be something like Influenza or AIDS with RNA making it's genetic structure, therefore adapted to the extreme genetic collapses and destruction caused by radiation.
I mean AIDS is such a rapid evolver a human may contain thousands of almost completely different AIDS Viruses.
 
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