Unmasking Europa
The Search for Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon
by Richard Greenberg

This book is just out! Get it now and read it before 2009, when Richard Greenberg will be one of HAC's guest speakers!

[ Click on the image at left to easily order through Amazon and support the HAC! ]

Unmasking Europa:
The Search for Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon

Synopsis: Tides heat Jupiter�s moon Europa and stress its icy crust. The distinctive tectonic cracks and ice floes demonstrate active linkages between the surface and the underlying deep global ocean, which have provided a variety of evolving environmental niches. These processes were recent, and thus most likely continue today. A habitable biosphere might extend from the ocean up to within a few centimeters of the surface. Longer term changes in environmental conditions may have driven biological adaptation, as well as provided opportunity for evolution. Life on Europa might be relatively accessible to spacecraft exploration, but at the same time vulnerable to contamination.

Bio: Dr. Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Lab recently authored the book Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter�s Ocean Moon. He received his PhD from MIT in 1972. He is a Professor of Planetary Sciences and Professor of Teaching and Teacher Education at the University of Arizona. He also founded the University's Science and Mathematics Education Center. His research concerns planetary dynamics, including formation, evolution, and tidal effects.



Speakers Index