Maybe the subject line of the post should be changed becuase there are plenty of scientific reasons to "bother with Europa," but you make some good points about the financial aspect of the mission and the search for life. That said, I would love to know more about this amazing moon, life or not.

When one considers the size of a single galaxy, and with the sheer number of stars/galaxies in the universe, I have no doubt there is other life out there. I'm honestly not that concerned about finding life among our "9" planets (it would be amazing to find, but it should only be one of many factors in our scientific exploration agenda).

The data and images from Europa are too tantalizing to resist (i.e. below) - I would love to see a probe continue to investigate this fascinating moon. I hope the next president will allocate a bit more funds for exploratory research to allow for both missions.

Europa "Low ridges, straight and curved, crisscross the surface. Flows and fractures, pits and frozen "puddles" - all hint at a unique geologic history. Large circular features could be the sites of impacts or the result of upwelling of material from beneath the surface...Looking at the pictures from Galileo, we see evidence of geologic action on Europa. Small blocks of crust float like icebergs over an invisible sea. Some blocks are tilted, others rotated out of place. Dark bands of ice and rock spread outward from a central ridge. What is the cause for this activity?"

(false color image)