When will a sample from one of the icy moons in the outer solar system be successfully returned to Earth?

The icy moons of the gas giant planets are one of the most promising places for hosting microbial life in the present time in our solar system. Missions such as NASA’s Europa Clipper will be launched in the coming years to establish whether icy moons such as Europa are able to support microbial life.

Once this is established, several other mission concepts currently being investigated would be capable of searching for signs of any microbial life on Enceladus, Europa or other icy moons. One of these concepts involves flying through the water vapor plumes observed on Enceladus that are assumed to blast water and ice particles coming from the subglacial ocean on that moon. These plumes are assumed to be connected directly to the subglacial ocean on Enceladus and could thus carry signatures of any life native to Enceladus. There are strong indications that such plumes exist also on Europa and could also exist on other icy moons.