Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, has an ice covering as much as 18 miles deep and the probe being tested can melt through ice at about 6 feet per hour. However, significant engineering challenges remain, the BBC reported Monday.

The prototype, based on a design pioneered by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany, is a 90-inch-long hollow aluminum cylinder with a copper melting head powered by an electrical cable.

Scientists believe with some improvements -- the melting head of the probe could be powered by a radioactive heating unit instead of an electrical cable and an external power source -- the concept could provide the answer for the Europa lander.

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