MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Its radiation-saturated surface is frozen, cratered, cracked and craggy. But Jupiters moon Europa may be living proof that life can thrive in a bizarre blend of environments.

A unique "Europa focus group" of planetary scientists, sea-ice experts, chemists and astrobiologists met here February 1-2 at the NASA Ames Research Center to hail the Jovian natural satellite as a high priority target for exploration. The gathering was sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Taking Europa just at face value tends to dishearten most biologists.

However, below the moons icy facade is where the action is. Subsurface, a deep briny ocean may exist wherein chemistry, heat spewed up from undersea vents and the tugging of tidal forces from giant Jupiter could conspire to whip up the ultimate home brew -- a biosphere for life.

"We don"t know if it"s liquid or not...but in volume, that"s more water than on Earth"s surface."

Voyager flybys in 1979, and repeated visits more recently by the Galileo spacecraft cruising in orbit about Jupiter since 1995, show Europa to be one weird world.

"Were dealing with a very interesting object here," said workshop organizer, Ronald Greeley, planetary geologist at Arizona State University in Tempe. Topped by a salty crust, Europa appears to sport a 100-mile- (160-kilometer-) thick shell of water, he said.

"We dont know if its liquid or not...but in volume, thats more water than on Earths surface," Greeley said.

Greeley said that a salty Europa solves a lot of problems.

"First, theres the temperature. It keeps things liquid longer. Salt also has implications for exobiology. Theres a whole group of salt-loving organisms here on Earth. We havent recognized their importance until just recently. Brine channels on Europa could be a pretty nifty niche for things to percolate in," he told SPACE.com.