By  Julio Marquez

With complex chemistry, methane rain, and lakes of hydrocarbons, Europa, one of Jupiter's 25 moons, has won the “flagship mission” status at NASA.

Planetary scientists also suspect a high probability of liquid water under Europa’s icy surface making it a focus in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Hitching along for the ride will be a European Space Agency probe that will be focusing on Ganymede which might also harbor liquid water. Ganymede is Jupiter's largest moon and is larger than Mercury,

However exciting the future missions are, they are not yet funded. In a press release today, NASA officials stated. "Both agencies will need to undertake several more steps and detailed studies before officially moving forward."

If funding is achieved, the two probes will be launched in 2020. After six years of space travel, they will arrive at the Jupiter system and begin to gather data from the moons for two and a half years. ESA and NASA will be sharing data throughout the mission.

It is widely believed that the habitable zone for microbial and advanced life resides between Venus and Mars, but scientists are now considering other environments that could harbor life.