Russia to search for life on Jupiter's moon Europa: report

The head of the Space Research Institute, Lev Zelyony, said a project to explore the giant gaseous planet Jupiter would shortly be included in the programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) for the years 2015 to 2025.

"The main task is to explore its satellite Europa, on which under a thick layer of ice a liquid water ocean has been detected," said Zelyony.

Russia is to participate in the programme, called Laplace after French astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace, and has suggested landing a craft in one of the fissures in Europa's icy crust.

Having landed, the craft would melt some of the ice and search for life forms, he said.

"Where there is an ocean, life could arise. In this respect, after Mars, the Europa satellite is probably the most intriguing place in the solar system," said Zelyony.

Russia has gradually been reviving its space research programme, which all but collapsed after the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991.

Moscow has been cooperating closely with the ESA as part of this revival.

At the end of this year an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket is due to be launched for the first time from the ESA's Kourou launchpad in French Guiana.

Last October Moscow also signed a deal with Washington to provide the US space agency NASA with instruments for scanning the Moon and Mars for water.