>>>...and a sneak preview of VFP9, code named Europa was shown.
>>
>>Without a doubt, the stupidest code name I've ever heard. We'll be a laughingstock:
>>
>>VBer #1: Why did they code-name VFP9 "Europa"?
>>VBer #2: Well, either it's because it's all wet, or scientists hope one day to find signs of life there!
>>
>>bada-bing!
>>
>>Sheesh.
>
>Europa is the moon that turned into an evolving planet in the 2001/2010: A Space Odyssey movies. NASA is currently considering sending probes there to learn more about it. I'm hoping, and assuming, that most people do not have such a negative view on things as you. Thanks for your support Al.

Ken, you're more than welcome. If you appreciate this type of humour I can probably whip up a Letterman-style "10-best" list without much effort, or just let the more fertile minds elsewhere do it for me!

For the lurkers here, Europa is one of the four large moons of Jupiter. Recent data strongly suggest that its entire surface is covered in a water ocean tens of kilometers deep, capped with an ice layer kilometers thick which has prevented evaporation of the water into space over geologic time periods.

If heating forces due to tidal interaction with Jupiter continue to heat the moon from within (the most spectacular example of which is Io) and are responsible for keeping the "ocean" liquid, then Europa has, by far, the best conditions for the development of extraterrestrial life known in the solar system.

This exciting prospect is what most people with at least cursory interest in many scientific disciplines will think of when they hear "Europa". Even science-fiction aficionados such as myself will likely not make your connection first, if at all.

Real science >> science fiction.