Exploration of Jupiter reach Europa after a 6.5 year cruise. The spacecraft would fly by the moon 32 times to minimize radiation damage. Because of the possibility of subsurface liquid oceans on Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, there has been great interest in studying the icy moons in detail. Funding difficulties have delayed progress. The "Europa Orbiter" was a planned NASA mission to Europa, which was canceled in 2002. Its main objectives included determining the presence or absence of a subsurface ocean and identifying candidate sites for future lander missions. NASA's "JIMO" ("Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter"), which was canceled in 2005, and
Swords of Mars allies Jat Or and Zanda in the other. The passage shrinks the travelers down until to them the tiny moon is the size of a planet. There, all are captured by the sun-worshipping Tarids, white-skinned and blue-haired natives of Thuria (which they call Ladan) whose mental powers render them invisible to the spacefarers. To win freedom from their jeweled prison, the antagonists must join forces with each other, aided by another captive, the one-eyed and two-mouthed chameleon-like "cat-man" Umka. Amid betrayal and heroic sacrifice, the parties from Mars eventually return to their home planet with Carter and Dejah still separated