While the plan’s authors rely on probes for preliminary landing information, "the manned mission is the dog that wags the robotic tail, and any brainstorming of robotic missions without consideration of the needs of follow-up manned efforts would be so much irrelevant ivory tower scientific curiosity scratching."

For living on the Europan surface, the Artemis plan proposes a simple modular inflatable hangar (pictured below) covered with shredded ice that is solidified into a "self-sustaining igloo arch" by microwaves. Once the ice form is established, the inflatable form can then be deflated and moved down to the next section creating a surface network of connected tunnels and buildings.

Then the sub would roam free through the Europan ocean while maintaining wireless communications with the surface. As for how the submarine crew would get back up to the surface, "we did not discuss means of ascent."

The most speculative feature of the plan centers on "air pockets" under the ice, either naturally occurring through ongoing volcanic outgassing or artificially created via electrolysis of the ice. The plan suggests establishing an outpost either floating on the surface of the ocean or anchored in the lagoon of any outcropping island. If a suitable pressure-temperature ratio can be formulated, colonists could stroll inside a pressurized dome in their shirtsleeves with temperatures in the "balmy 50s."

The plan envisions a new Europan civilization bubbling up in such air pockets. "Individual outposts could be named after classical harbors of old: New Syracuse, New Carthage, New Tyre, New Alexandria, New Atlantis and so on."

The Europan empire builders are sanguine about their chances of occupying such high-priced real estate. "Maybe there are no such places, and all we have done is provide science fiction writers with a new class of venues for their stories."