http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EJSM/Laplace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EJSM/Laplace > In April 2011, ESA stated that it seemed unlikely that a joint US–Europea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EJSM/Laplace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EJSM/Laplace > In April 2011, ESA stated that it seemed unlikely that a joint US–European mission will happen in the early 2020s given NASA's budget, so ESA is investigating the possibility of proceeding with a European-led mission.[3] The ESA-led mission is called the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) and will be based on the JGO design. Selection of JUICE for the L1 launch slot of ESA's Cosmic Vision science programme was announced on May 2, 2012.[4] It always comes down to budget. There's only so much you can do with $n billion, and NASA gets less money each year. Billionaires and governments are free to declare that they'll do it faster and cheaper, but NASA has a head start on science and engineering. It's easier to believe NASA's timetables and budgets because it has the experience.