Given its budget, NASA can’t afford to launch many robotic spacecraft per year.
Given its budget, NASA can’t afford to launch many robotic spacecraft per year. Yet the public is interested to know if there’s life in space. If you were named the NASA administrator and had the money for only one mission to the outer solar system to hunt for biology in a Jovian moon, which jovian moon would you choose to investigate? Defend your position.
In order to address the task, you must answer the following questions and include a bibliography of your sources. You can answer them separately or you can write in essay form, that is, 3–4 paragraphs that contain the information being asked for:
Which jovian moon did you choose? What motivated you to choose this moon? Jovian moons refer to all the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, so there are plenty to choose from! You can read Chapters 7 and 9 of the textbook to help you with this assignment.
How does your moon satisfy the major environmental requirements for habitability? You will need to include the requirements in your response before addressing whether or not they are met by your moon. The requirements are listed on page 249 of Section 7.1. Section 7.1 itself is very helpful in explaining what the major environmental requirements for habitability are, and wherein the solar system would be found. While the textbook mentions that the liquid medium requirement may be difficult to satisfy in general, for this assignment, it is unlikely that you will pick an object that does not have a liquid medium. Therefore, the main constraint for habitability will be whether or not your object has sufficient energy for life.
What kind/s of life forms would you expect to find, and why? You may wish to re-read Chapters 5 and 6. (2 points)
What type of robotic spacecraft/mission would you recommend to search for life on your moon and why?
Include all your reference sources in a bibliography, and cite them within your answers / your essay using the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. (MLA format guidelines are explained at this webpage from Purdue University (Links to an external site.).)
It is fine to use only the textbook as a source of information. You will need to list the textbook as your reference in the bibliography.
Requirements: none
Answer preview to given its budget, NASA can’t afford to launch many robotic spacecraft per year.
APA
658 words